The brilliantly embroidered "A" worn by Hester Prynne, Nathaniel Hawthorne's main character in The Scarlet Letter, has commonly been recognized as symbolizing adultery, but the emblem holds countless other meanings as well. The "A" stands for the severe authority of the setting--seventeen century Puritanical Salem--or an authoritarian society. The "A" also suggests that Hester was an able individual who proved was talented with stitchery and able to withstand public condemnation. Finally, the "A" represents the idea of an angel, a beautiful heavenly creature who was also a messenger. In choosing not to label Hester with a complete word, like adulteress or sinner, Hawthorne left open the interpretation of the "A" sewn upon her dress bodice. The townspeople, Hester Prynne, and Arthur Dimesdale all regarded the purpose of the "A" differently.

With the intention to survive in the wilderness, the Puritan community of Salem maintained many disciplined ways of...