Scarlet Letter

In the article, “The Status and Role of Women,” found in the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the role that women play in society is discussed. This article includes four different documentary excerpts that give an overview of where women ranked socially and what role they played in society. A common theme throughout all of the excerpts was that in America, women are considered equal with men in everything. It is very interesting how the role of women in society has changed over time.
In Biblical times, women did not take part in society as much as the men did. They were quiet in church, and stayed home to take care of things rather than participate in work. For a long time women were just supposed to stay home while the husband provided support for the family. Women also did not have much of a say in political issues or in the government. In the early 1900’s women finally earned the right to vote. They had gone hundreds of years having no say in the government and finally they had moved up one more step in society. More recently I have noticed more and more women involved in jobs like construction work and semi truck driving which are jobs intended to be for men. This shows that the line socially separating men from women has become less and less distinct over time. There have also been a lot more women involved in government and political affairs. The most recent example that comes to mind is Hillary Clinton running for president. It was a huge deal for a woman to even attempt to be placed in such a big leadership role in America, but at the same time, it was okay. Women have risen higher socially compared to men over the last one hundred years.
I think it is good that women have proved themselves capable of doing the things that only men have done for so long. I sometimes get offended when people make sexist comments that make women seem inferior to men. The way I look at it, there are certain things that are only for women and certain things that are only for men. Things like hard labor, tough jobs and dangerous jobs are typically things that fit the genetic make-up and capabilities of men. Women should not feel like they have to do these “manly jobs” to simply prove that they can. Women and men were made differently and are good at different things. I do believe that men and women are equal but on different levels. Men are better at tough physical jobs while women are better at things such as bearing children and taking care of household things. Just because it may seem like the jobs that men have are the more important ones to society, without women around to do the things they are good at, things would probably be very hectic.