Beginning of Essay
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about the trials and tribulations of Hester Prynne, a woman living in colonial Boston. Found guilty of adultery, Hester's punishment is to wear a visible symbol of her sin: the scarlet letter "A." Through the book, ....

Middle of Essay
.... a sin by punishing the offenders. Hester Prynne is a strong, independent woman who deals with her sin of adultery very well. Instead of running away from it, she lives with it and accepts her punishment. However, while succumbing to the will of the court, she does not for an instant truly believe that she sinned. Hester thinks that she has not committed adultery because in her mind she wasn't really married to Chillingworth. Hester believes that marriage is only valid when there is love, and there is no love between Hester and Chillingworth. In the prison, defending her actions against him, she declares, "Thou knowest, thou knowest that I wa ....