According to a quotation from Chapter 18 in Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, "The tendency of [Hester"s] fate and fortune had been to set her free.? Although Hester had gone through a great deal of pain, suffering, and hardship, she acquired freedom by the end of the novel. After all of the suffering she experienced by the end of the novel, Hester Prynne gained freedom from her guilt and sin, she was able to gain more insight on human nature, and lastly, she was liberated from the two people who brought the heavy burden of the scarlet letter upon her: Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale.

After her adulterous act, Hester built up a great deal of guilt. She had wronged many people: her husband Roger Chillingworth, her illegitimate daughter Pearl, and most importantly herself. During the prison scene, Hester admits her wrongdoing to her husband: "? I have greatly wronged...