Nathaniel Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter in 1850 about Hester Prynne, a young woman accused of adultry, although she was waiting patiently for her husband who was lost at sea. Not revealing the identity of her lover and giving birth out of wedlock, she was forced to wear the infamous letter ‘A’ and led through town for public shaming. Interestingly, Hawthorne wrote the historic novel after losing his job as a customs surveyor.
In yesterday’s NY Post, Brian Moore wrote THE SCARLET B about the bias against job-seeking bankers along with this great visual. The article debates whether the ‘masters of the universe’ are getting the cold shoulder, self inflicted stigma or the reality of just less jobs to go around. Maybe a combination of all three but the 2009 Scarlet B imagery is very satisfying.
