Nathaniel Hawthorne's literary masterpiece, “The Scarlet Letter," provides readers with a rare insight into American Puritanism. The main character, Hester Prynne, is faced with a barrage of hatred from the citizens of her town of Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, because she'd committed adultery. Throughout the novel, Hester stood strong. When she was caught committing adultery and jailed, she stood strong. When she was forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” she stood strong, and lastly, when Hester learns from her sin and changes from being depressed to being happy, she stood strong. Hester symbolizes strength, which shows that people can overcome hardship if they own up to their mistakes. Hester Prynne was released from prison, anxious and excited to be a mother to her little Pearl, and to be wearing a vibrant red scarlet letter “A” on her chess. As a part of her punishment, she had to stand on the scaffold holding her baby to set an example of what not to do. As people walked past utterly disgusted by her, Hester soon realized that her sin will never be forgotten, and that she is an epitome of a shameful woman. People are saying rude and nasty things to her and some believe that her punishment is cake. “At the very least, they should’ve put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forehead” (50). From that point, Hester understood that she would not be forgiven, but instead, she’d be taunted. All of the negativity makes her a stronger woman, and instead of crying, she took her punishment for what it was. As time progressed, Hester started going through changes. Her appearance began to change. Early on in the book Nathaniel Hawthorne focused on her bosom, but at this point, Hester begins to dress fully clothed and covers her head full of voluptuous hair, under a cap. The joyful women she once was, has turned in to a naïve and sad women. Hester became very conservative, and only seemed happy around Pearl. Hester b