Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Term Paper

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 power over her, rather than showing that she does not feel shame for who she is. Hester's adulterous relationship is something that she admits is a part of her identity, and she does not want to discard that aspect of herself.Dimmesdale struggles because he is not able to embrace his identity and retains a superficial identity as the minister. He continues to try to reject this part of himself, which leads to his downfall because he does not have a whole identity......