Scarlet Letter Townspeople

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, contains many profound characters. The townspeople intrigue the reader because they gradually evolve throughout the book, as would any solitary character. In the beginning of the novel, they are generally rigid and judgmental towards Hester, because she has committed adultery. Throughout the novel, they slowly allow Hester and her daughter into their community, but still look at them with suspicion and doubt. Finally, in the end of The …

…the woman associated with the letter rather than the act. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the townspeople in his novel The Scarlet Letter as a criterion against which other societies can be weighed. The Puritan townspeople bring forth and inspire forgiveness. Readers can hypothesize that because such a harsh society is capable of such a simple act, all people are competent to forgive. The Puritan society, by evolving throughout the novel, shows a human nature to forgive.