The Scarlet Letter

Although daunted by the prospect of living the rest of her life as an outcast, Hester doesn’t consider leaving Salem. Instead, she takes up residence in an isolated cottage near the coast, where she makes her living as a seamstress. She has a talent for sewing intricate pieces suited to funerals, military displays, and government offices:

“Vanity, it may be, chose to mortify itself, by putting on, for ceremonials of pomp and state, the garments that had been wrought by her sinful hands […] But it is not recorded that, in a single instance, her skill was called in aid to embroider the white veil which was to cover the pure blushes of a bride” (75).

Hester dresses her daughter in similarly elaborate clothing but wears plain garments herself. She also spends much of her time sewing basic garments for the poor; given Hester’s general taste for beauty and ornamentation, the narrator speculates that this may be a form of penance. However, despite the social niche Hester manages to carve out for herself, she remains on the outskirts of Salem society and is highly conscious of the judgment of others even as she goes about town conducting business.