Midway through The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne gives the reader an in-depth look at the change in Hester Prynne's character. The chapter title: "Another View of Hester" sets the stage for the discussion of the change in Hester's personality, character, and intellect as well as a summary of her past four years. This "other view" refers both to the changing perception of the Puritan community toward Hester as well as the narrator's detailed description of the changes in her. There are several key changes in this chapter, which can be considered.

Firstly, identity emerges as an important premise in this section of the novel. The ways in which a society tries to define a person are often at odds with the way that individual defines them self. As the community reinterprets the scarlet letter, Hester once again has an identity thrust upon her by her fellow townspeople, but...