Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne,

Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, takes place in Massachusetts in the seventeenth century where there were strict laws based on morality. Hester Prynne is punished for committing adultery by having to wear a large "A" and being publicly humiliated, but she refuses to reveal the identity of her illegitimate child's father. Hester's husband, calling himself Chilling, has been missing, but he has returned at the time of her punishment and he reveals his presence only to his wife that keeps it secret.

The husband befriends and moves in with a young minister, Dimmesdale, who also protects Hester and her daughter, Pearl. It is eventually revealed that Dimmesdale has been punishing himself because he is Pearl's father, and he dies before he can run away with his former lover, and many years later Hester is buried next to him under a single tombstone marked only with a scarlet letter "A." One important theme in this novel is sin and knowledge.

The story of Hester and Dimmesdale is like the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible. Adam and Eve are driven from the Garden of Eden for gaining knowledge of sin, and Hester and Dimmesdale are driven from society for their sin as well. Both of these characters find enlightenment of a sort through their sinful relationship, and even to some degree in the persecution they experience.

Hester refers to her label as a "passport" revealing that it is freeing for her, and Dimmesdale is able to preach and understand humanity better because of his relationship. True sin is not understood by the other preachers, but evil is found in the closeness of love and hate in the society. Another major theme in the Scarlet Letter is identity. Hester embraces her "A" identity and refuses to leave the town so that she can remove the label and restart her life.

She does not want it to be removed or to leave the town because that would prove others have.