hat to give it away would be unjust and unfair to Hester and Pearl. From now on Hester would continually and proudly be near Pearl. Hester would go against the grain in everything she did. Very rarely did she ever give up hope; never did she complete a job poorly. In the city of Boston "many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength." By now the people of Boston believe in Hester and accept her because Hester is an arduous, productive worker in the puritan society. The townspeople were reconsidering whether Hester was still worthy of wearing the scarlet letter by the time Hester was about to leave with Dimmesdale. The people of the town realized what an exquisite job Hester had done wearing the A and what once was evil inside of Hester turned into righteousness outside of her. Although Hester eventually wins acceptance by the town's people because of her community service, it is not until after the death of her secret lover, Reverend Dimmsdale, and the marriage of her daughter that she is able to return to the town. There she becomes a revered figure in the community, one to whom "people brought all their sorrows and perplexities, and besought her counsel." Hester learns from her sin, and she grows strong as a result of accepting her punishment. "The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not treat. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, stern and wild ones, and they had made her strong." At the end of the novel Hester emerges from her experiences and is revealed to be a woman capable of helping others and being respected by them. She has the happiness that comes of being at peace with oneself, one's fellow men, and with one's God....
