F eminism in The Scarlet Letter It is seen that Hawthorne’s support for women came from the women in his own life. Women were his first valued readers and he even portrayed their lives in his writings. After his marriage to Sophie Peabody who was his assistant and his friendship with Margaret Fuller who was a radical advocate of the Women’s Rights Movement, his female characters started becoming more complex as he started to know more about women and understand what they were fighting for. During his friendship with Fuller and after witnessing the injustices women go through in their lives, Hawthorne started to believe in the idea that if a change has to be brought in a society, such change has to be initiated by women. We get to see feminism in The Scarlet Letter through the strength shown by Hester Prynne’s character. First, she defies the convention by refusing to stay within the boundaries of a loveless marriage and went on to pursue love outside of it. She again defies the convention by refusing to name the father of her child. In a society where the power is with the men, her strength is her silence. The authority can punish her but they can’t pressure her to reveal her secret. Her silence became her tool to defend not only herself and her baby but also the man she loves. The readers get to see how she can go to any extent to keep her child to herself. She first confronted Governor Bellingham in order to defend her right to raise her baby who is the only treasure she has and the only last hope for her. The Puritan magistrates wanted to take Pearl away from her since they didn’t trust such an immoral woman taking care of a baby. Hester Prynne with her rebellious and brave spirit went on to face them and succeeded in convincing them to not separate her from her child.