When the young woman — the mother of this child — stood fully revealed before the crowd...she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony.

In this quote it shows the way in which society meant for the letter to cause her shame, and to punish, and to serve as a lesson for others to show what happens to those who commit adultery, but Hester never let that meaning through. She was happy with what her sin brought her as it gave her her daughter. To her, it represents her life and the trials she has been through to get her where she is. It represents her own experiences, individuality, and strength. Society eventually tries to change it’s meaning to “able” after they’ve deemed it okay to remove it and live “normally,” but she refuses even this, as it means that all her life while she was wearing the letter meant nothing, yet so much of her life happened because of the letter, her love, her daughter, and the lesson’s she’s learned.