Most people associate Hester Prynne with high school literature tests and boring English teachers rather than remembering her as a liberated woman centuries before her time. This is a shame.

Hawthorned introduces The Scarlet Letter as a "tale of human frailty and sorrow," and for Hester's lover, the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, that is how the story ends. But Hester moves beyond frailty and sorrow as she transforms her life from one of exclusion and shame to one of community service and admiration.

When Hester is first introduced, she is placed on display on the Puritan town's scaffold. After her adultery, she is ordered to wear a letter "A" on her bodice so all will remember and judge her for her adultery. But even in the opening scene she stands before the scornful crowd with quiet dignity, her babe in her arms. She was not required to embroider her letter "A" in such a large, bold design; this she chose.

As the years go by, the Reverend Dimmesdale, who has never owned up to being the baby Pearl's father, grows weak and ill. Hester, on the other hand, proudly bears her letter and performs daily acts of charity that gain the grudging admiration of the entire community. Where once her "A" stood for adultery, folks start saying it now stands for "Able." Her story becomes legendary and her position in the community secured. Her life is devoted to her child and to her acts of kindness and her work as a noted seamstress. Dimmesdale eventually dies of shame and guilt, but Hester carries on, never allowing despair to rule her life or shape her identity.

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