Blog 23: Novel Prompt

“Ah, but,” interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, “let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart. “ (Hawthorne 36)

The setting of the story at this point, when this quote was said, was when Hester Prynne had shown herself to the public, in the town square. Specifically, she was standing on the stage where punishments were given to people for all the  towns-people to see. Out in the public there were a group of women who were gossiping about Hester Prynne, just as all the others in their town. As each of the women in the group shared their opinion, the last woman to speak said this quote. Unlike the rest of the women this one said something smart. As they discussed Hester’s scarlet letter and how she would want to hide it, this woman said that no matter how Hester tries to hide the scarlet letter, her sin, regret and mistake will always be in her heart and conscious. This was a very true statement. Besides that piece of cloth, everything around her reminded Hester of the past, even Pearl. Therefore it would be pointless for her to hide it. This statement is important because it allows the reader to understand how Hester’s life dramatically changes. This also contributes to the story because it gives hints as to how that simple scarlet letter is not really a small piece of cloth because it will change Hester inside and out. Finally, it represents the fact that no matter what Hester tries, she will not get rid of her sin.