On Tuesday, South Carolina Representative Nancy Mace was seen skulking about Capitol Hill wearing a shirt emblazoned with a red “A.” Why? Was it a dig at Senate’s failed dress code change? Alas, the real reason was far dumber.
SC Rep. Nancy Mace is wearing a t-shirt with the letter “A” on it.
When asked what it stands for, she said it’s her “Scarlet letter.” pic.twitter.com/YQjieZ6w8O
— Gary Grumbach (@GaryGrumbach) October 10, 2023
Per Newsweek, Mace told reporters that it wasn’t just a red “A.” It was a “scarlet letter,” a reference to The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic of American literature, in which a woman is forced to wear the titular object after being caught committing adultery. The “A,” in fact, denotes her crime, as opposed to some other letter.
What crime did Mace commit? According to her, she’s been hounded for being one of eight Republicans to vote to remove former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“I’m wearing the scarlet letter after the week that I just had last week, being a woman up here and being demonized for my vote and for my voice,” Mace told reporters. “I’m here to let the rest of the world know and the country know, I’m on the side of the people. I’m not on the side of the establishment, and I’m gonna do the right thing every single time, no matter the consequences ’cause I don’t answer to anybody in D.C. I don’t answer to anyone in Washington. I only answer to the people.”
It’s true that Mace was the only woman among the octet, and perhaps she’s experienced more criticism than others. That said, that’s unlikely given that it’s Gaetz, not her, who’s become the face of the McCarthy ouster.
Even if that were true, though, it’s not the smoothest comparison, is it? Hester Prynne was both a victim of religious oppression and sexism in 17th century Massachusetts, and over the crime of adultery. Mace simply did what seven men also did, to say nothing of all the Democrats who voted against McCarthy. Should Matt Gaetz wear a scarlet letter, too?
After Mace’s stunt went public, many people postulated that perhaps Grace isn’t as familiar with Hawthorne’s novel as she purports to be.
The Scarlet Letter A stands for Adultery. https://t.co/70KjnXQfUf
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) October 10, 2023
Because she committed adultery in 1642? I don’t get it
—
Josh Rubin, MD
(@DrSandman11) October 10, 2023
What a fucking idiot. The “A” in the Scarlet Letter stood for the sin of Adultery. pic.twitter.com/DJRJYhRWyC
— Amy Lynn
(@AmyLynnStL) October 10, 2023
Nancy Mace when asked if she knows what The Scarlet Letter is about pic.twitter.com/c4pjMLaCpb
— Phill W Hill (@ThrillWHill) October 10, 2023
Another illiterate Republican. She has never read the Hawthorne book, The Scarlet Letter. Hence, she is unaware that the letter A stands for adultery. pic.twitter.com/JR4r41Q1kf
— Gordon McClendon
(@GordonMcClendon) October 11, 2023
Nancy Mace needs to crack open a book to read it, instead of setting them on fire, then maybe she won’t embarrass the fuck out of herself, because she’s clueless what The Scarlet Letter is.
https://t.co/N9gxUl181m
— Liberal Lisa in Oklahoma (@lisa_liberal) October 11, 2023
There’s a zero percent chance she’s read The Scarlet Letter.
— MsSunshineDaydream (@jpmaizel) October 10, 2023
I’m deadly serious here, can someone please explain to me why/what this is supposed to mean. Maybe I’m being deliberately obtuse but isn’t the scarlet letter in, like, the Scarlet Letter about making everyone know Hester is an adulterer? https://t.co/dzB0fBd7eU
— Liz Mair (@LizMair) October 10, 2023
Some considered her stunt a worse adaptation of The Scarlet Letter than the disgraced 1996 film version starring Demi Moore.
Congratulations, Demi Moore. Yours is no longer the worst adaptation of ‘The Scarlet Letter.’ pic.twitter.com/wxo0k1n3Ju
— Steve, no, not that Steve, the other one. (@Steven_James84) October 10, 2023
Demi wore it better. pic.twitter.com/AMvKWWCikt
— Kim Eckert
(@akim_eckert) October 10, 2023
Others wondered if the “A” really stood for “abortion ban,” which Mace and others in her party want to force upon the nation.
Fun fact: The “A” here stands for abortion ban — like the one Nancy Mace and her pick for House speaker, Jim Jordan, want to enact across America. pic.twitter.com/RO5cRoPYPg
— Michael B. Moore (@michael_b_moore) October 11, 2023
(Via Newsweek)