The Scarlet Letter: a Romance

This novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of and dignity. Set in 17thcentury Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony, during the years 1642 to 1649, it explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. It revolves around shaming and social stigmatizing, both Hester’s public humiliation and Dimmesdale’s private shame and fear of exposure. Notably, their liaison is never spoken of, so the circumstances that lead to Hester’s pregnancy, and how their affair was kept secret never become part of the plot.