Of course Hawthorne's point of view is that of the 19th century, not that of 17th century, where his short stories are settled. He is aware of his roots and history, but he questions these roots and history from his modern point of view.
Back to his attitudes towards the Puritanism of ancestors, when Hawthorne read the accounts about his first American ancestors, he was reported to have read them with fascination and horror. He was different from his ancestors.
The way Hawthorne makes Hester's fate goes with the Puritans. She sins, is forced to wear a letter "A" on her breast, is isolated by the townspeople, but finally is respected because of her kind-hearted. This can be assigned the origin to .Hawthorne's experiences that he has isolated from the outside after he graduates from university. Hawthorne has ever said to Longfellow, the most fearful thing is that you can not share your happiness or sorrow of your daily life to others. One who is deprived the right of join the society, is an audience but not a participant, Max said that one is a social man because man has to live in the society, or he will lose the meaning of exiting. (Chang，2009,76)Hawthorne thinks Hester should resign the punishment of Alienation, which is seen as the cruelest one. Hester should turn over a new leaf by expiating herself.
Hester's fate is designed; she has no choice because she lives in a puritan society and Hawthorne's puritan thoughts also determine her fate. The next chapter aims to describe the original image of Hester and the typeface meaning of her original image.
3. Original Image of Hester: Strong and Brave
Hester's entrance is an attractive and graceful lady like a lady of quality, which makes her different from the town people. Although she sins, she acts brave and dare to admit her sin, dare to get salvation through her acts.
3.1 A Graceful and beautiful Lady
Hester is attractive when she appears. She is a slender lady who herself with a deliberate grace. She has a beautiful face with deep black eyes. To most people, she looks more like a graceful lady from the upper class. But Hawthorne's female characters tend to fall into two broad categories, the blond and effete, and the dark-haired and sensual Oriental type. To the latter belongs Hester Prynne, attractive, appealing, and mildly aggressive, she represents sexual guilt as love with her is fatal, but she is really pure and innocent. Young Hester borders on being licentious. Her drive is sexual. One need take just a casual look at her luxuriant head of black silky hair to understand this of her. But she lives a rigorous life; only once does she let loose her lovely hair. (Barlow, 2000, 21)
3.2 Eager for True Love
Hester Prynne leaves a deep impression to the readers. Hester is a woman, who has great courage to devote to real love and a woman who experiences hard life and longs for freedom. She loves her life no matter how difficult it is. She tries her best to struggle against the adversity. She is a beautiful, virtuous, brave and tough woman.
Hester marries with an unloved ugly old man, nothing but having great knowledge admired by all fools. However, when Hester goes to Massachusetts of Boston, She falls in love with Dimmesdale who is her true lover. It should be a good matter, so to speak, if she could divorce from the oldest Chillingworth and then marry Dimmesdale it would be a romantic love story. Unfortunately, it is disgraceful of a married woman to love another man even if that is her beloved one in that abnormal time. So, what a disgraced thing it is that she has to be set up to public shame and wore a mark of shame upon her bosom letter A stands for adultery that makes her bring sermon against sin, until the ignominious scarlet letter be engraved upon her tombstone .But that does not impact on her life even if all dwells give a wide berth to her and use the most incautious words to aggress her later. Because of her benevolence.
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