'Nathaniel Hawthorne's astounding book is full of intense symbolism and as haunting as anything by Edgar Allan Poe' – The Guardian

‘The Scarlet Letter is a tragic love story, but it’s also a story about resistance and transformation. When I reread The Scarlet Letter I discovered a far more radical book. I hadn’t noticed that the word “patriarchy” runs through the novel … along with a scathing depiction of patriarchs in the opening chapter. The love story is beset with contradictions that continue to afflict American society, between the vision of a democratic society and the continuation of patriarchal privilege and power. I hadn’t recognised Hester as a resister. Hester is a visionary. The American novel.’
—Carol Gilligan, Why Does Patriarchy Persist?