Hawthorne clearly did not hold this view. The physical descriptions of Hester flesh out a delicate, elegant, and radiantly beautiful young woman; the epitome of ladylike grace, not evil and sin. Hawthorne suggests with her journey to the pillory that not only is she beautiful and ladylike, but also fiercely proud and strong willed. The horror of ostracism in front of an entire community isn¡¯t something to be taken lightly, and Hester bore the …showed first 75 words of 273 total…

…showed last 75 words of 273 total…into Hester, and this in turn instilled in her a very strong sense of guilt. She didn¡¯t see fit to derive pleasure from sewing, which was perhaps her only means of escape from the harsh reality of Puritan scorn, because in her mind, joy was sin. In short, Hawthorne developed a colorful and delicate view of Hester with his exposition?one starkly contrasted with the evil, contemptuous view that the Puritans held of her.