Analysis

Social background: The novel reflects the social and cultural characteristics of colonial New England. The Puritanism of the time, with its emphasis on the sanctity of marriage and personal chastity, weighed on Hester and Prynne's lives and provided the context for their actions. Religion and morality: Hawthorne explores the relationship between religion and morality in his work. Hester's and Prynne's actions were influenced by religious ideas, and to varying degrees they were subjected to religious and social pressures. The Reverend Dimmesdale, though lofty on the outside, had never been able to face his mistake at heart, and only confessed it to Hester on his deathbed