Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" - Hester's Alienation

Throughout his book The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne is preoccupied with the relationship between the individual and society. Hester's sin and subsequent condemnation alienate her. No where is this alienation more apparent than in Chapter 5, 'Hester at her Needle'. Condemned by her sin of passion, Hester is separated from her community, not only physically, as she lives on the edge of the town, and socially, as she this chapter Hawthorne presents the most profoundly destructive …

…conjures up images to torment her soul. She is bound by no earthly bonds, but by the manacles in her mind. The poor girl is left without a friend in the world and her trust in humans falters and becomes tainted. Her self confidence is a shattered mess as well. Because of her psychological alienation Hester's outlook on life has become a murky pit with no hope of escape and no optimism for the future.