The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel that illustrates the importance of one person in the community and how that individual has the capability to alter the outcome of himself and the community. Hester Prynne's strength and determination provide the perfect attributes to conquer her sins and the sins of others. The "A" that Hester Prynne bears in The Scarlet Letter shifts in meaning at least two times to mirror the character changes of Hester throughout the progression of the novel and the town's acceptance of her.
At the opening of the novel, Hester Prynne is portrayed as an adulterer that has the knowledge of her sin, but will not have her pride broken. She first appears to the host with her head held high and a brilliantly embroidered scarlet letter "A" upon her chest. With the use of her needle working skills, Hester presents the highly ornamental scarlet letter on her chest proving she will stand tall though she may be ashamed. Aghast at her decorative appearance, the women of the town see her as no more than a sinner that has a child of the devil commenting that "it were well, if [the women] stripped Madame Hester's rich gown off her dainty shoulders" (Hemingway 61). Already the letter has shifted in its meaning of plain adultery; it symbolizes the hidden shame of the community. Preachers stop and provide sermons in the streets when they notice Hester; the letter develops into an example of a crime and therefore acts as a deterrent for others in the community. This social isolation plays into the symbolism of the town being strictly Puritan and the wood being freedom and love while her house is on the border of the two. This show of symbolism also moves to a deeper meaning of moral and immoral universes that Hester tries to simultaneously live. The people of the town see her as the focal point of shame because her "A" not only means adultery, but it puts in form all the secret crimes of the community that the inhabitants do not desire to be reminded of.
