The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (page 51)
The stranger who is accompanied by the indian is inquiring about the lady on the platform of the pillory to a townsperson.
Townsperson-
"Thus she will be a living sermon against sin, until the ignominious letter be engraved upon her tombstone."
Hester Prynne has just been labeled as an adulteress for all to see. She will be isolated and humiliated for the rest of her life. Even in her death her tombstone will display that letter that represents shame and sin. This quote represents Hester's circumstance and the judicial tendencies. The town is one that fights to keep all sin out of their town. The government officials decide to use her as a symbol for sin. How will Hester continue to live her life and raise her child? What is the stranger's interest in Hester? These are vital questions to the plot of The Scarlet Letter. This quote is the first time the severity of Hester's punishment is realized. Originally when the reader finds that the punishment for adultery is death they believe Hester to be getting a relaxed punishment but to be degraded as a sinner for the rest of her life sounds more like torture.
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