Envy of the Procreative Power of Women in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Sca

Envy of the Procreative Power of Women in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel about procreation. Though Hester Prynne is the mother of Pearl and the creator of the scarlet letter in the novel, Hawthorne is the symbolic mother of the novel, the letter, and the characters. Careful analysis of the text reveals a pattern of womb envy and an attempt to master it on the part of Hawthorne. The concept of womb envy-- envy of the procreative power of women (Kittay 126)-- has been virtually ignored by both psychoanalysts and literary critics since Bruno Bettelheim first introduced the idea. Though intended as a supplement to the concepts of penis envy and the Oedipal complex developed by Freud, womb envy has not generated the attention that penis envy has. This may in part be due to Freud's interpretation of the desires of the males in his case study to bear children as be "anal, autoerotic, or homosexual" in nature. (Kittay 127). Since Freud ignored the possibility of men's envy of women's childbirthing abilities, most of his followers have as well. The disparity in the acceptance of Freud's and Bettelheim's concepts can best be seen in psychoanalytic criticisms in the literary world. Examples of "penis envy" and "Oedipal complex" readings abound. Hamlet's desire for his mother causes him such guilt that he resurrects his father and goes insane. Gertrude's promiscuous and incestuous marriage to her late husband's brother Claudius is a symbolic attempt to gain a penis. Virginia Woolf's invented sister of Shakespeare is a symbolic penis. At the same time, few literary critics have attempted to explain character or author motivation in terms of womb envy, despite the fa... ...st new mothers, Dimmesdale dies after delivering his sermon and confessing his sins. Chillingworth is unable to survive this loss since his dependency on Dimmesdale is unnatural. Of all the central characters, Hester, along with Pearl, is the one who strong enough to survive. Works Cited Benstock, Shari. "Of Gardens, Gold, and Little Girls." The Scarlet Letter. Murfin, Ross C., ed. Boston: St. Martin's, 1991. (292-303). Kiehl, Joanne Feit. "Re-Reading The Letter: Hawthorne, the Fetish, and the (Family Romance.: The Scarlet Letter. Murfin, Ross C., ed. Boston: St. Martin's, 1991. (235-251). Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Murfin, Ross C., ed. boston: St. Martin's, 1991. Kittay, Eva Feder. "Mastering Envy: From Freud's Narcissistic Wounds to Bettelheim's Symbolic Wounds to a Vision of Healing." Psychoanalytic Review 82. (1995f): 125-157.