Key passage #1
Pg. 167 “The past…to her features.”
This passage gives Hester Prynne a revelation about herself. Hester declares the past is gone
and she will be made anew. She tears the letter off her chest and tosses it aside. With the letter
now torn off her chest, Hester feels refreshed. She takes a deep sigh of relief. Hester also
surprises us by taking her cap off. Her newfound feeling of freedom has led her to wanting
more. All of her happiness comes flooding back in these moments of freedom. Hester is an
independent woman now.
Key passage #2
Pg. 173 “Children will not…a deadly pallor.”
This passage brings us to realize that Hester will do anything for the minister. The minister gave
her an ultimatum of love. Hester has just experienced freedom from the letter and now she
cannot refuse love. The freedom that she felt was not great enough to power over her love for
the minister. Hester struggles over freedom and love and her independence disappears again.
Key passage #3
Pg. 54 “The penalty…upon her tombstone.”
Here we are given what Hester’s punishment will be. It is explained that the penalty would be
death except that out of the “great mercy and tenderness of heart”, Hester will only have three
hours on the pillory and a mark of shame for the rest of her life. The letter would even be
engraved on her tombstone. The magistracy is poking even more fun at her because they know
death would be quick and a mark of shame would not. Even without the mark of shame,
Hester’s life would still be marked by society’s views and her mental health.