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"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a result of the literary struggle between Classicism and Romanticism. This struggle is plainly embodied in the character of Hester Prynne, who must contain her passionate personality to the guidelines placed before her in a strict Puritan society. In a Puritan society, committing a sin is viewed as the worst possible thing one could do and one must be punished accordingly for it. In the eyes of the …

…people go through, and the consequences of breaking moral and social codes of behavior. In God's view, everyone is a sinner in need of mercy. Who has the right to punish a sinner? Should it be religion or the individual? In Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter all three affected Hester Prynne. Religion punishes her with the "A" and individually she was able to move on in life but still returned to her haunting past where she died.