symbolism: A

In the novel the Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester is punished for sinfully committing adultery. She has to wear a scarlet letter everyday to punish her. At first everyone frowns upon her and she has to deal with all the disdainful looks towards her. They feel like she does not have a large enough punishment. The townspeople feel the “A” should be branded on her forehead. She is isolated for seven years. Her only hint of another person being around her is pearl. She is literally alone with nobody. She has punishment all in herself. Towards the end of the novel the scarlet letter becomes a sign of forgiveness. It also acts as a code of honor. It symbolizes all her charitable work in the past seven years. The once infamous scarlet letter is now a sign of her great doings. The People introduce her as “our Hester”. They see her as new again and they respect her once more. “"Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?" they would say to strangers.”It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!"” This is when they are introducing her to new people and visitors. Though they forgive her, Hester does not. “The days of the far-off future would toil onward, still with the same burden for her to take up, and bear along with her, but never to fling down; for the accumulating days, and added years, would pile up their misery upon the heap of shame.” She will always have that shame within her.