The Scarlet Letter Symbolism

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…caused by the scarlet letter, Hester tosses the letter aside for an hour. The return of this letter, however, is beneficial to Hester. The letter's refusal to be swept away, Pearl's refusal to join an unlettered Hester, and Dimmesdale insistence that Hester do what ever it takes to quiet Pearl, force Hester to reaccept the symbol of the sin she had wrongly divorced, and therefore allow Dimmesdale and Hester to share a mutual public shame.