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

Envy of the Procreative Power of Women in Nathaniel Hawthornes The scarlet Letter The orange red Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel about procreation. though Hester Prynne is the female parent of Pearl and the creator of the scarlet letter in the novel, Hawthorne is the exemplary mother of the novel, the letter, and the characters. Careful analysis of the text reveals a pattern of uterus invidia and an attempt to master it on the fragmentise of Hawthorne. The concept of uterus 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 paraphernalia 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 Freuds interpretation of the desires of the males in his case study to generate children as be anal, autoerotic, or homo sexual in nature. (Kittay 127). Since Freud ignored the misadventure of mens envy of womens childbirthing abilities, most of his followers have as well. The diversity in the acceptance of Freuds and Bettelheims concepts can best be seen in psychoanalytic criticisms in the literary world. Examples of penis envy and Oedipal complex readings abound. Hamlets desire for his mother causes him such guilt that he resurrects his father and goes insane. Gertrudes promiscuous and incestuous wedding to her late husbands brother Claudius is a symbolic attempt to gain a penis. Virginia Woolfs invented sister of Shakespeare is a symbolic penis. At the same time, few literary critics have attempted to explain character or author motif in terms of womb envy, despite the fa... ...st new mothers, Dimmesdale dies after delivering his utterance and confessing his sins. Chillingworth is unable to survive this loss since his dependency on Dimmesdale is unnatural. Of all the telephone exchange char acters, 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. Martins, 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. Martins, 1991. (235-251). Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Murfin, Ross C., ed. boston St. Martins, 1991. Kittay, Eva Feder. know Envy From Freuds Narcissistic Wounds to Bettelheims Symbolic Wounds to a Vision of Healing. Psychoanalytic appraise 82. (1995f) 125-157.