The Scarlet Letter - Punishment and Death Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter deals with many themes, including punishment and death. Using the theme of punishment, the central character, Hester Prynne, was forced to wear a scarlet letter embroidered on "her breast" for the rest of her life as a sign of her sin of adultery. This object; however, it has the opposite effect as a punishment, and as members of the community begin to forget the original meaning of the letter, it takes on a new, capable meaning. In the thirteenth chapter of this book, Hawthorne appears and declares in the third person "the scarlet letter had not done its office." Hester went beyond the letter of the law and did everything that was asked of her. She became a very popular seamstress, praised throughout the city of Boston for her work. She herself wears only dull and ordinary clothes, punishing herself with humility. There is only one item of clothing she is forbidden from making, the wedding veil, it is assumed that she cannot represent the values ​​of a marriage in any way. It would be completely inappropriate for a person who has committed such a serious sin to be involved in the marital ties of another couple. Nevertheless, she carries out her work conscientiously and completely. She is emotionally exhausted from all the work and penance for her sin. By the middle of the novel, she no longer appears as a hidden beauty. Hester now wears her hair in a cap, and the only effort of considerable value is that which she devotes to her teachings to Pearl. She has earned the respect of the locals. People now view the letter as representing the word "able." As Rev. Dimmesdale refers to Pearl in his argument for allowing the child to stay with his mother, "God gave Pearl as a blessing and as a reminder of his sin." » The girl herself constitutes a far greater punishment for Hester than the letter “A”. The pearl is the living symbol of his sin. All the evil and hatred of this story are embodied in this little