It is clear from the dilemma above that while what we choose to say and do can say a lot about us, in the same instance it can do the exact opposite. Whether an action or feature reveals any sliver of a person’s character is dependant on what the audience or bystander chooses to focus on. Just as a feature can be both a means to demonstrate traits and a means to do the exact opposite, throughout the novel, the eponymous symbol acts as a means to shed light on the truth behind two of the main characters’, Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, personalities and actions, but also pushes the misperceptions held by their society towards these two characters. This contrast further proves that people are often misjudged by appearance or a singular action/first impression.
Through the symbol of the Scarlet Letter, Hester is shown as a confident and powerful character who stands out, but through the eyes of her society she is seen as sinful and disrespectful character who is easy to pity and judge. Hester’s A is described as “...artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore, and which was of a splendour in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was