The Scarlet Letter

How would you feel if you had a red letter sewn onto all of your clothes that stood for something embarrassing that happened to you? I know I would feel embarrassed and probably not want to leave my room until I could remove that letter. This is what Hester Prynne must live with for the rest of her earthly life in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Along with the scarlet letter to remind her of her act of adultery, she also has a daughter. She loves this daughter, but Pearl is also her daily torture. Along with that, some of the townspeople want to take Hester's custody of Pearl away from her. They think that Hester will harm the child or the child will harm Hester. The townspeople believe Pearl to be a demon-child and should be taken from Hester for Hester's safety. They also believe that is Pearl is human, then she should be taken away from Hester for her own safety.

This made me feel angry because Hester is taking good care of her child and a mother should be allowed to have a say in who has custody. Bellingham, Wilson, Chillingworth (her husband in disguise), and Dimmesdale (her lover, unknown to public) let Hester keep her child because Hester pleads to them and Dimmesdale supports her cause.

At the end of Chapter IIX: The Elf-Child and the Minister, Mistress Hibbins pokes her head out of a window of the governor's house and asks Hester Prynne if she'd like to join her in the forest for some witch activities. Mistress Hibbins is the acknowledged witch and is Governor Bellingham’s sister. She makes this very public, which is strange. I would think that actively participating in witch activities would be more sinful than committing adultery once. It is also common knowledge that witch hunts were common during the time of the Puritans. This adds to the strangeness of the society. Shouldn't Mistress Hibbins be burned at the stake or drowned in a lake for witchery if Hester Prynne must live alienated from society?