The Scarlet Letter

Title: The Scarlet Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
ISBN: 1442140712

Plot Summary: The narrator of the story, living in what is then the present day in New England, comes across some old belongings of a woman who once lived in the community known as Hester Prynne. Hester, a married woman, had an affair with the Reverend Dimmesdale while her husband was away, and bore his illegitimate child. For this transgression, she was ostracized by the community and forced to wear a large scarlet "A" on her clothing at all times, to symbolize the sin of adultery. She attempts to regain the community's trust by leading a quiet and charitable life, but the reappearance of a mysterious stranger in town throws her world into turmoil. Although both she and her lover attempted to escape their current situation, they found that the ties of duty, obligation, and their mutual child are too great to let them go forever.