Summary
Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, a woman who bears an illegitimate child and is publicly shamed for her sin of adultery.
As punishment, she is forced to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her chest—an enduring symbol of her transgression.
Hester refuses to reveal the identity of her lover, protecting him even as she endures ostracism. That man, however, is none other than the revered minister Arthur Dimmesdale, who is slowly destroyed by guilt and inner torment. Meanwhile, Hester’s estranged husband, Roger Chillingworth, arrives in town in disguise and becomes obsessed with revenge.
As time passes, Hester transforms into a symbol of strength, dignity, and compassion, while Dimmesdale’s secret eats away at his soul. The novel builds toward a dramatic climax where truth, guilt, and redemption converge in public revelation.