Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, "The Scarlet Letter," proved to show how shame can be a form of eternal punishment. The actions of the novel’s protagonist, Hester Prynne, caused the elders of the Puritan elders of seventeenth century Boston to imprison her. She is looked down upon and is disrespected by people. The fact that she tries to hide her wrong doings slowly corrodes her. "The Scarlet Letter" reveals that the truth will set you free. Nathaniel Hawthorne presumes that guilt will exhaust one’s self, until he/she are drained physically, mentally and emotionally. Hester Prynne is destined to her Puritan society by her guilt; has to wear the scarlet letter “A” on her body as a punishment for her having a child by a man, Arthur Dimmesdale, minister, without marrying him. The letter had to be embroidered onto all of her clothes as a reminder of what she has done. Her actions did not agree with Puritan beliefs. The Puritans believed in harsh punishments when rules were broken. This is how they kept society regulated. The performance of Hester’s crumble is shown by Nathaniel’s many descriptions of “ghost” dealing with Hester. Throughout the book the author makes contrast such as, “turning pale as death” ( page 63 ). While this passed, Hester Prynne had been standing on her pedestal, still with a fixed gaze towards the stranger; so fixed a gaze, that, at moments of intense absorption, all other objects in the visible world seemed to vanish, leaving only him and her (Hawthorne Chapter 3 page 56). Richard B Sewall says that, “Dimmesdale; and yet to renounce the community in the name of her consecration was equally unthinkable. She had sinned, and she knew guilt. But hers was no passive nature and, from some mysterious promptings of her own being, she took action in the only way she knew how; in the dim light of her prison cell, she embroidered the scarlet letter-with matchless artistry and in brilliant hue.” Roger