She is then forced into standing in front of the whole town for hours as the crowd is breaking her down with hateful and abusive language. After she was released, "the scene was not without a mixture of awe, such as much always invest the spectacle of guilt and shame of a fellow creature" (63). They almost had satisfaction in her punishment, having the perception that they had cleansed the town, and therefore only leaving a pure society. The society had thought that if they treated her so horribly no individual would attempt in committing acts that were against the Puritan faith and the law itself. The townspeople did not see her as a necessity but as a nuisance to get rid of.
Sally Buckner theorizes that Hawthorne tries to incorporate the effects of guilt, through Hester who is known to go through this, and make her a complete character, containing all the aspects of compassionateness, understanding, and sin. After her sins, the Scarlet Letter is supposed to make her a come to terms with herself. Dimmesdale, strives for confession, however is blinded by his devotedness towards the Puritan faith, resulting in the reluctance of the truth, protecting his reputation in