The Scarlet Letter

In "The Scarlet Letter", Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the hypocrisy of the Puritan society of the seventeenth century with the story of the downfall and redemption of Hester Prynne. The hypocritical Puritan society punishes Hester for committing adultery. However, in her own mind, she does not see her actions as a sin because she acts out of love. Furthermore, she redeems herself by turning her offense into a virtue. Through the tale of Hester Prynne, Hawthorne's moral is that the sin is not in adultery, but in the persecution of love by the society.
…