Summary of seminar notes on Ch 1-12 of Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter"

The protagonist of The Scarlet Letter is an interesting and very dynamic character. Hester is a brave woman, which was not a very common thing in the days of the Puritans. She is braver than Dimmesdale, and is able to shoulder the blame of two people. Hester is very accepting, also. She does not try to place the blame dealt to her on anyone else's back, and does not try to resist or protest her …

…did the people of Hester's town even know she was married? The best we can figure is that because it was such a small town, and everyone knew everyone else's business, if there were any documents regarding the marital status of Hester, everyone probably knew about it. Puritan law says if you are married, you are not allowed to have any other relationships until one partner dies. Hester broke this law. Hester had to pay.