1. Self-confident, Self-reliant, and Dignity of Manual Labor: In The Scarlet Letter, it is initially determined by the local government that the typical penalty of death for adultery is mercifully reduced due to the fact that Hester’s husband may already be “at the bottom of the sea” (deceased) and she can be effectively considered a widow. As a result, Hester is condemned to stand on the scaffold for three hours at mid-day for public humiliation and wear the scarlet letter A on her chest for the remainder of her life. Although Hester is initially filled with grief and shame for being subject to ridicule and harsh judgment by the townspeople, she chooses to be self-confident and self-reliant. Instead of letting the scarlet A letter be a symbol of her shame, she selects the finest red cloth and embroiders the letter A with illuminated gold thread to celebrate her unique life, away from the relation with her fellow Puritan ...