Knowing that the novel was written 200 years after the fictionalized setting, what inference can you make about the societal values of the Puritan age and Hawthorne’s time?
Answer
A
Hester is an admirable protagonist in Hawthorne’s time but is considered a sinner in her own time.
B
Hawthorne’s interpretation of Hester’s sin is the same as Puritan values in the 1600s.
C
Societal values regarding sin did not change much between the Puritan age and Hawthorne’s time.