The novel as a symbol

I first read The Scarlet Letter during my freshmen year of high school, and rereading it for the second time definitely elicited a different response. Perhaps it was because I initially read it at such a young age and wasn't able to fully comprehend the meaning of the work, but this time around, I found myself particularly frustrated with the attitudes of the townspeople. The fact that Hester is under "this intense consciousness of being the object of severe and universal observation" for her actions frustrated me not only because of its unnecessary exaggeration, but also because something like this could still happen today (483). The scarlet letter becomes a part of Hester's identity, and the people around her begin to define her by it. Hawthorne writes, "over her grave, the infamy that she must carry thither would be her only monument" (494). I found myself angered by quotes like this, along with the idea that "man had marked this woman's sin by a scarlet letter, which had such potent and disastrous efficacy that no human sympathy could reach her, save it were sinful like herself" (499). There is clear patriarchal dominance over Hester and her whole life and identity is altered because of the scarlet letter, and though Hester eventually surpasses what was supposed to be a punishment for her sins, the close-minded ideology of the townspeople still angered me. This clearly seems to be Hawthorne's intention in writing the novel, and in adding to the discussion about symbols, the novel itself can serve as a symbol of the in gender disparities in society. Through the irritated responses of the readers, the novel represents feminist frustration in society, even still today.