Popular Culture Studies: An Analysis of Puritan’s Hegemony in The Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

Puritan’s Hegemony in The Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

Introduction

On this element discuss about:

• A literary work by Nathaniel Hawthorn entitled The Scarlet Letter, which contains a story of social life. The story of the wrong interpretation of the values of life, that affect the mindset and even the rules for justice and human rights (especially in dealing with Hester Prynne), that have been carried out by the Puritans. e
• Several snippets of narrative from the hegemonic power over the Hester Prynne case.

The purpose of conducting research on The Scarlet Letter is accompanied by the meaning of analytical studies and several examples of research analysis with this object.

Research Method

On this element discuss about:

• This study uses a qualitative description method with two data sources (primary data sources from the Novel the Scarlet Letter and secondary data sources from the literary books, article, etc). In the case of Hester Prynne, there are two perspectives against Puritan law, i.e. Feminism Perspective and Deconstruction Theory. Here's an explanation:

Feminism Perspective is a series of activities and social movements in several aspects of society that aim to achieve gender equality, equality of human rights (especially women), and change the discrimination experienced by women in the economic, political, social, and personal spheres. This movement is motivated by social inequality experienced by women and to end inequality also domination by other groups that make women a second-class in the society. Patriarchal authority is a form of oppression and violence based on cultural, social, and political societal norms that affect the physical and psychological conditions of women. Patriarchy is a form of domination of power in which men have more rights than women. Hence those men have special rights while women feel oppressed by injustice in a patriarchal culture.

Jacques Derrida is a French Philosopher in the 20th century (1930) as the originator of the Theory of Deconstruction, which has been used as a new critical thinking in post-structuralism. Deconstruction Theory is a way of thinking that can be applied to political institutions, thus it is not only applicable to literary or philosophical meanings. This theory provides a statement that this theory rejects the assumption of structuralism which means interpreting something in general and absolute, also has no other interpretation from outside the text and its meaning is final. Deconstruction states about contradictory perceptions or binary opposition structures. It is this binary opposition structure that influences truth in the social aspect. 

Result and  Analysis 

In this section discusses about:

• Legal and Political Inequality of The Puritan Church by Puritan’s Cutom House. There is an imbalance in the law and the political demands of the Puritan church with the existence of the Puritan’s Cutom House. Political laws and societal norms have been bound to the Bible of Moses, in the social and political sphere; there are contradictory perceptions that blind society without any compromise thereafter. Society lives based on and refers to the rules in the Bible of Moses. The case of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter novel, she must accept punishment for violating God’s rules. She does not have the right to challenge her political rights legally, she is only able to accept punishment for hegemonic power in law church membership, and also puritan law does not apply equal rights before the law. Hester Prynne should fight physical and psychological abuse by strengthening the ideology of feminism to protect oneself (personal rights) and obtain equal rights in social life, especially equality before the law. Because she was a victim of the authority of the Puritan church and the injustices of the puritan society. Her guilt is based on puritan law, but she still has the right to be protected and get equal rights in front of the Puritan Traditional House. 
• The Value of Religion, Law, and the Puritan Political System in Hegemony Reconstruction. According to Albanese in America Religion and Religions, Hegemony is coercion of obedience to the political system, law, social, and all religious values used by Puritan society. The Bible is the standard conception of life for the Puritans as the new Israel. This influenced the notion that the new Israel brought about a transformation from Old English Puritanism. Research on Cutom House uses a binary opposition strategy with a purpose against the Puritan religious values deemed inhumane as well as human rights which are the absolute gift of every human being. This is to reconstruct Hester Prynne's character in spiritual domination and authority and religious with the death penalty she received for her sinful deeds. The Puritan Religious Court believed and sentenced Hester Prynne based on the Bible of Moses (Exodus: 20:20) and Prynne can oppose it on the basis of John's Bible (Chapter 8, pp. 3-11) which contains a story of a woman with the sin of adultery but is not punished. In the Bible of John it can be concluded that all humans have certainly committed sins and no one has the right to punish each other (including the death penalty against Prynne). Thus, the case of Prynne's sin of adultery is a personal matter of one's ethics. Religious values, which serve as the basis for legal, political and social values, greatly influence hegemony in social society. The Puritan Political System is unrepresentative due to the combination of traditional hegemony combined with religious values in implementing their decisions. The Puritan Traditional House ignores Hester Prynne's human rights in Deconstruction Theory with binary opposition. 
• Liberal Feminism Action and Ideology. This feminism focuses on changing people's values and beliefs about gender. So that they are individual and apart from social inequality. Liberal Feminism discusses personal rights politically in accordance with the applied political system and does not discuss power, domination structures, and privileges for men. An opinion says that, in the case of Hester Prynne it is better to use the ideology of liberal feminisms to oppose and fight Puritan law. So that he is able to fight for his personal rights, individual rights, and justice and equality with equal opportunities based on a human rights perspective based on Puritan law rules.
• Radical Feminism Action and Ideology. The power of the Patriarchate that dominated Puritan society was the reason why Prynne should have adopted this ideology. Prynne had to free herself from hegemony; she could even rebel against the Puritan patriarchal hegemony. Because a revolution will occur, patriarchal power can be destroyed and replaced with a more humane system without any negative things happening to the people. An opinion says, this ideology is a form of ideology to carry out counterattacks, like women against male authority by finding the identity of a woman herself. This ideology considers men to be the domination of authority over women and men regard women as colonized people. Hester Prynne had better resist the forces of Puritan domination at all costs to fix things and rediscover what was lost and change aspects of women's culture for the well-being of women.

Conclusion

The character of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter is a depiction of the oppression of women from the Puritan hegemony in its religious, social, political and legal aspects. This was influenced by White Anglo Saxon Protestants towards Puritan moral values which considered one superior to the other. The Puritans exercised hegemonic power and power over all social instruments without any consideration of law, justice, and other compromises. To fight and undermine the hegemonic power of the Puritans over the character of Hester Prynne, it is advisable to strengthen the perspectives of feminism and humanity and make Prynne the main character with binary opposition to Derrida's perspective.