In chapter 13 of The Scarlet Letter the narrator talks about hoe Hester feels and acts years after she committed her crime. By now Pearl is seven years old and Hester has completely changed. She is no more a tender passionate woman; she could have possibly been burned by the brand of the “A” on her bosom. The townspeople also act differently towards Hester. They don’t usually notice her symbol anymore. They think of her symbol to mean “Able” instead of “Adultery.” On page 133, it states that when a stranger would ask who Hester was and why she was wearing such a strange badge the townspeople would reply by saying, “It is our Hester – the town’s Hester, - who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!” After so many years of dealing with one of their society members breaking the law, the townspeople pretty much forgot about her sin and think of Hester as a good, willing person.
If the society was going to end up thinking good of Hester why did they make such a big deal about her crime in the first place? This quote shows that the townspeople think they know everything but really don’t. If Hester could commit such a crime then be forgiven for it, what about all the other people they have killed for committing the same crime? This quote shows how bias the townspeople really are. Hester is actually a good person and now that her crime is in the past the townspeople can see that. If only they had looked past her mistake years earlier a lot of pain and time would have been saved.
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