Beginning of Essay
The novel opens with an explanation of how the romance of The Scarlet Letter came to be presented as a story in its existing form. Having always wanted to be a “literary man”, Nathaniel Hawthorne talks about his three-year stint as a Surveyor in the ....

Middle of Essay
.... the letter “A” on her gown at all times as punishment for her crime. She has stitched a large scarlet “A” onto her dress with gold thread, giving the letter an air of elegance. Hester carries Pearl, her daughter, with her. On the scaffold she is asked to reveal the name of Pearl’s father, but she refuses. In the crowd, Hester recognizes her husband from Amsterdam, Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth visits Hester after she is returned to the prison. He tells her that he will find out who the man was, and that he will read the truth on the man’s heart. He then forces her to promise never to reveal his own ident ....