A In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter.
It is safe to say that the scarlet letter A has had several meanings throughout this book. People have changed their opinions about this stigma. The scarlet letter, A can be interpreted in many different ways and can be seen in many different forms, too. The first and most obvious meaning of the letter "A" as it was written in the book is adultery. Then, as the chapters progress, the reader can see how people start to look at the A meaning “able” and not “adulterer”. Fast forward into Chapter twenty-four, and one can read Hawthorne’s description on the people’s new take on the symbol, they now look at the letter with awe, yet with reverence too. Hester, the bearer of this letter, still looks at it the same way, with the same sad eyes, even at the very end of the book.
The original meaning and purpose of the A was to bring shame and scorn upon Hester, and it did, very much so.
This woman, tortured by her sin, forced to wear this beautifully embroidered letter on her chest every day. The result of her sin is little Pearl, whom she loves dearly. Hawthorne states that Pearl is the scarlet letter endowed with life, being the product of her sin, in other words, a daily reminder to Hester of the sin she committed. Hester freely chooses to not remove the A even when she is not required to wear it; this confirms the guilt she feels and her determination to not forget it. She knows very well the consequences of her actions and feels horrible about
it.
Later in the story, we find out about Hester’s good deeds and her desire to help the poor and assist them. Even though the poor think she is beneath them because of her past, this does not stop her. Hawthorne ultimately presents Hester as a woman who represents a sensitive human being with a kind heart and emotions. Still ahead, we see the townspeople begin to suggest that the A stands for Able. Even with all of this, Hester still looked at her A in the same manner, and doesn’t stop to do so, not even in the conclusion of the book. She could have easily moved out of town, but decided to say. This shows her strength and will; she is committed to accept her punishment and accepts it freely.
On chapter 24, Hawthorne describes how townspeople look at the letter with awe, yet with reverence to. Hester, even after all this years, decides to keep the A on. People have changed their opinion towards Hester and the letter. She is no longer an object of ridicule and scorn, but is now looked upon respectably because of her good actions and desire to help women who come to her for advice and comfort, whom she gives freely thanks to her many years of isolation and suffering. Hester went from people avoiding her and mocking her, to people coming to her for aid and guidance. Hawthorne, on the last chapter, said, “The scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world’s scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence too.”
This scarlet letter A has meant different things to the main characters- curiosity for Pearl, guilt for Dimmesdale, rebelliousness and revenge for Chillingworth. But to Hester, it still has the same effect as the first day she wore it at the scaffold. The A is her day-to-day chastisement; it is the symbol of her shame. She still feels that she should not only keep the A on her bosom, but to live in her cottage in Boston where her sin took place. In the end of this story, Hawthorne states that the scarlet letter A was imprinted in her shared tombstone with Dimmesdale against a black background.