High school is known as being the prime time for gossip. Anyone who has been the subject of a circulating rumor can attest to the unbearable shame that accompanies whispers and cold stares in the hallway. Nowadays, this stage of life is short-lived, and as we get older, gossip often becomes the least of our worries. On the contrary, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts a Puritan society in mid seventeenth century Massachusetts, in which the character Hester Prynne is the talk of the town for years after she commits adultery. One might imagine that Hester would want to hide her humiliation, or desperately escape from such disapproval, but amidst the years of public scrutiny and isolation, Hester Prynne not only survives, she flourishes. …show more content…
“...that Scarlet Letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself “ (Hawthorne 62). Using this letter to distinguish Hester as an adulterer for all to see, the colony sets her up to live a shameful and isolated life, never forgetting her sinful offense. The severity of the deed in the eyes of the Puritans is reflected by their harsh objection, which they voice while gossiping among themselves. A lady of the town even exclaims, “This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die...let the magistrates who have made it of no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray” (60). The townspeople are so disgusted by the crime of adultery, that some truly believe that it deserves the penalty of death as a sign to all that this behavior is not accepted, and neither is