She deserves punishment.There is no mirth.No laughing.It is obvious then that Hawthorne's family had a profound effect not only on him but also on his works. His family's Puritan roots also affected him. His Puritan ancestry did not get much better treatment than that given to Salem in The Scarlet Letter. An aversion to Puritans is created in the novel "as part of the strategy of generating sympathy for Hester" (Baym 11). Though he did follow his Puritan forbears in their beliefs toward sin, his concept of sin's consequences was very different from their ideas of predestinationHawthorne's differing opinions of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth become apparent here. He continually describes Hester with sympathy, even considering her a martyr and comparing her to the Virgin. He judges Dimmesdale much more harshly, calling him a "subtle but remorseful hypocrite"Ah, but," interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, "let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart. " "What do we talk of marks and brands, whether on the bodice of her gown or the flesh of her forehead?" cried another female, the ugliest as well as the most pitiless of these self-constituted judges. "This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die; Is there not law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book. Then let the magistrates, who have made it of no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray" ...
