What price should a person have to pay for a mistake, or sin? In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, the cost paid by Hester Prynne is very high and very public. The consequences of her actions and choices were widely felt, because they affected many people. Hester's relationships with society, with her daughter Pearl, and with her lover Arthur Dimmesdale were forever changed by the scarlet letter embroidered "A" she wore upon her chest. In that way, the letter served its ultimate purpose: it took Hester Prynne out of ordinary relationships with humanity and enclosed her in a sphere by herself, changing forever the dynamic of relationship with those around her.
             Hester Prynne is publically shamed and forced by the people of Boston to permanently wear a badge of humiliation. One might think that when Hester has the option to flee town and start her life over with a clean slate that she would jump at the opportunity. On the contrary, her unwillingness to leave town proves her desire to determine her own identity rather than allowing others to determine it for her. She is fully aware that her past sin is a part of herself. However, the letter "A" starts causing extreme pain and anxiety for Hester: "The symbol was not merely scarlet cloth, but was red-hot with internal fire, and could be seen even when Hester walked around in the night time" (Hawthorne 61-2). A young mother remarks about Hester saying, "Let her cover her mark as she will, the pang of it will always be in her heart" (Hawthorne 38). As time progresses Hester turns her eyes down at the symbol on her shirt, then to her infant child to assure herself that the shame she so clearly saw and felt was real. Society has classified her as
             being shameful, and has permanently marked her with the pain of guilt.
             The very first object which Pearl had noticed in her mother's life was not her big smile or her ...