The scaffold is a recurrent image in the novel, The Scarlet Letter. It is recognized as the most public place in the Puritan society and used for public humiliation. It is known as an instrument of torture and symbolizes punishment for one's sin. In each individual chapter, the scaffolds symbolism plays a different role and causes each characters development to change significantly.

There are several emotional changes that each character goes through in the three scaffold scenes such as humiliation to anxiety, and anxiety to strength, all that mirror the constantly changing purpose of the scaffold in The Scarlet Letter.

The scaffold is first introduced in Chapter Two. Hester is forced and condemned to stand up on the scaffold as a form of punishment for committing the horrible sin of adultery. For three hours, Hester stands there, amidst the entire Puritan community, humiliated. Later, Governor Bellingham, Reverend Wilson...