The Scarlet Letter 3

INFIDELITY

There are many ways in which you can hide an affair. When you are a woman and get pregnant because of the affair, it is terrible. How will you tell your husband? Would you lie to him and say “This is your son”? I think that this is really common these days. Men also have children outside the marriage, the difference is that they do not carry their children for nine months. Consequently, it is easier for them to hide this situation.

This is the same experience Hester Prynne had to go through. She had an affair within a Puritan Society, but the worse thing is that she was married. Even worse was that her husband arrived when she was being shown as the walking sermon before the comunity. It was hard for her to face her husband embracing her child.

Roger Chillingworth, known as a doctor, but actually Hester’s husband arrived in a bad moment. Even though Hester hurted him, he did not want to revenge against her because he was sure Hester did not love him, he married her anyway. He knew that he was the first who made a mistake because he understood that Hester will never be happy with him. Although he wanted revenge, it was not against her but against the child’s father.

It is extremely hard for any person to face another when you know this other person has being lying to you. That is pretty much what happens between Hester and Roger in the prison. He started insulting her and saying bad and ugly things to her. For me, that reaction was totally understandable.