The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is the fictionalized retelling of Jonathan Pue's account of Hester Prynne. The narrator, presumably Hawthorne, stumbles upon the actual Scarlet Letter, and the story behind it, on the abandoned second floor of his workplace, the Custom House. Hawthorne finds that the story is one of romance, scandal, and deceit, and decides to retell the tale to the public. Hawthorne and Pue's combined efforts have made the scarlet letter a cultural icon, and have created a literary classic. Through Nathaniel Hawthorne's words, people today are still mesmerized by the steadfastness of Hester Prynne, the ruthlessness of Roger Chillingworth, and the tortured soul of Arthur Dimmesdale.…
