de. This attitude is shown from the beginning as she holds her head high, despite the looks of scorn. “Stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until, on the threshold of the prison door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will.”( )The general society on the other hand, being Puritan, believed that Hester was an appalling woman and should hang for her sin. “‘This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die!’”(59) People just passing by would judge her as if in a court room as they observe the letter upon her chest. “…the children of the Puritans looked up from their play- or what passed for play with those sombre little urchins- and spoke gravely to one another: ‘Behold verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter, and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, therefore and let us fling mud at them!” (103) Townspeople did not view Hester as a member of their community. Rather, they viewed her as an outcast. “Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhabited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature by other organs and senses then the rest of human kind.”(87) Her strong feeling of pride and love is conflicted by society’s unforgiving, strict nature. Hester is not a good Puritan woman. Accordingly, she becomes isolated from the good Puritan society. Her house was located on the outskirts of town, bordering the forest. Hawthorne used the forest to symbolize freedom, love and wildness, three qualities, which often show themselves in Hester’s cha...
