Beginning of Essay
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is about a young beautiful woman, Hester Prynne, who comes to Boston from England. While living by herself, waiting for her husband to move to the New World, she becomes entangled in a love affair with the town’s past ....

Middle of Essay
.... down and condemn her for the sin she committed. Although Hester is clearly a Puritan, she does fully acknowledge her sin and boldly displays it to the world. She dresses Pearl in scarlet as a second symbol, and wears the scarlet A long after she could have removed it. All these things are proof that she was trying to hide nothing. Hester’s salvation lies in truth. Adultery also led to Hester having psychological consequences. She experienced much shame and guilt. As one of her punishments for her sin, she was forced to stand on a public scaffold while she was made fun of by her peers. The scarlet A followed her around everywhere she we ....