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For ages, humans have been condemned for their misdemeanors and insubordination towards society's strict justice system; though, at a first glance, this suggests a degrading society, the classification and branding of a person who has committed a sin is what characterizes humans as human beings. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, which sets during the early colonization of America, The Scarlet Letter bears a tale of a married woman, named Hester Prynne, who commits adultery with the Minister of Boston, Massachusetts, Arthur Dimmesdale, where they both share their perceptive daughter, Pearl. Though Hester's husband, who is originally a resident of Europe, discovers this shameful truth about his wife, Roger Chillingworth embarks on a journey of vengeance to ascertain the name of the man who has eluded his punishment for adultery. On the other hand, Hester Prynne is branded with the scarlet letter, serving as to shower shame onto Hester while incarcerating her into public humility. Although many individuals are incapable of attaining true redemption, the scarlet letter, whose primary purpose was to bring shame to Hester, failed to carry out its office. As a result, the letter configured itself to Hester and the society in which she resided in, all while acquiring a multitude of meanings as Hester, and other characters, begin to understand the meaning and themselves even further.

The scarlet letter, though believed to symbolize a multitude of purposes, has afflicted Hester to a certain extent – enough to force her to realize that she has committed a sin according to society. Although Hester is perceived in a more positive light, she became noticeably cold and withdrawn from the Puritan society after her banishment. After the influence ...

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...diate between Dimmesdale, Pearl, Hester, and their community, the letter – and only a letter – harbors an insignificant value; however, Hawthorne reveals that such an meaningless object is a representation of the community's amoral system of punishment and judgment.

Evil is not a cultural phenomenon – it is a human one. The scarlet letter, seeming to carry a multitude of purposes, embraces only one ulterior motive. It is a motive that has trickled down since the publication of the Bible. The scarlet letter, apart from its essence in the community and society, exposed to man and woman the pure, inherent essence of what life means to be a human – a human who flourishes in a “moral wilderness.” In other words, the scarlet letter completed its office by residing in the conscious and subconscious mind, all while indicating the need for repentance after a transgression.