Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

As someone who read the Scarlet Letter, I started to wonder, why is Hester judged so much for her sin and why is the minister (Mr. Dimmesdale) not, even after confession? The real question is why are stereotypes so deceptive?

“What’s Wrong With Stereotypes? The Falsity Hypothesis” by Erin Beeghly, details the errors in stereotypical thinking and the harm it does to individuals in today’s society. It is found in JSTOR’s library, which is a platform for scholarly articles. In her article, Beeghly discusses The Falsity hypothesis, which states that “Stereotypes are (typically or usually) false or inaccurate.” She explains that stereotypes are occasionally correct and based in statistics, but primarily stereotypes are incorrect assumptions based on an individual’s explanation of a specific population’s traits. In The Scarlet Letter, the two dominant focuses of stereotypes are social hierarchies and the design of the brain.

Social Hierarchies:

Because of social standards and differences, many people have been subject to classism and stereotypes accordingly. Beeghly argues that we have the system “set up to make some people ‘less than’ others and to keep these ‘inferiors’ firmly in their place.” They oppress those with lower positions, which ensures the downfall or outcast of a person. As well, society “[cements] social hierarchies” into their community.

In The Scarlet Letter, Mr. Dimmesdale is higher in society, which implements better treatment. Hester is much lower in society and has to work much harder to muster even the slightest bit of respect, despite Hester being an intentionally better person than Dimmesdale.

Image: Represents a social pyramid.

Cognitive Function:
The mind is constantly trying to figure out what’s happening around it. Beeghly points out that “stereotypes… [have] distorting effects on cognition, perception, imagination, memory, and attention.” As well, it can “worsen group social inequalities and express disrespect to individuals, whether true or false.” Due to this, it causes a filter that deceives one of what is really being perceived.

Similarly, there seems to be cognitive impairment in The Scarlet Letter’s Boston. For example, since Hester was an adulteress, no one would hire her to embroider the wedding veils (despite there being no real ‘taboo’ that follows it). As well, Mr. Dimmesdale is the least suspected to sin because of his position as a minister. This blinded everyone to the truth (that he was an adulterer).

Conclusion/Connection to the novel:

Stereotypes control society/the mind in both Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and in real life. In our case, social structure and one’s background is prominent in assumptions. Stereotypes destroy and impair accurate judgement of others. For example, any of those who are poor or more sinful than another receive more judgement, while people completely ignore true character. Similarly, Hester received the same hateful treatment.

Image: People are seemingly deceived and controlled by social structure. The blocks represent people controlled by their place in the block tower.