Chapter 4

On page 70 Hester refuses to tell the scholar who the man is that she was unfaithful with and he replies by saying that he may not bear a letter of infamy on his garment but he can read it in his heart.

This is true in this day also. When people have a guilty conscious sometimes it is possible to read it just by the look on their face. When people have done something wrong and they know it they automatically act differently even if they don't realize it. When I was younger and would do something I shouldn't have my mom would always know because of the way I acted. I didn't have to tell her I did something wrong or as Hester does in the story wear a letter on her clothes, my mom just knew by the way i looked and acted as the doctor says he will know who the man is.

The scarlet letter on her chest not only shows what she did wrong but over takes Hester in a way. Once the letter was put on all of her clothes that became her identity. It didn't matter who she was before that, once she did that the letter identified her. Its the first thing people see when they look at her and its what they will label her as for as long as she wears it. In a community such as the one she lives in, such a label is disastrous on her character and she will forever be an outcast. Its unfair that the main doesnt have to wear this same label and be identified in this way forever. Even though the guilt he feels may show on his face or through his actions he will never have to suffer the same shame and embarrassment that Hester does because of her new identity.