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''The Scarlet Letter'', published in , it is generally considered to be his masterpiece. Set in Puritan New England in the 17th Century , the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing Adultery , refuses to name the father, and struggles to create a new life of Repentance and dignity. Throughout, Hawthorne explores the issues of Grace , Legalism , and Guilt . ''The Scarlet Letter'' is Framed in an introduction (called "The Custom House") in which the writer, a stand-in for Hawthorne, purports to have found documents and papers that substantiate the evidence concerning Prynne and her situation. The narrator also claims that when he touched the letter it gave off a "burning heat...as if the letter were not of red cloth, but red hot iron." Previously, Hawthorne worked in the Salem Custom House several times, losing his job as a result of administration changes. There remains no proof of a factual basis for the discovery in "the Custom House." Hester Prynne, the story's Protagonist , is a young married woman whose husband was presumed to have been lost at sea on the journey to the New World. She begins a secret adulterous relationship with Arthur Dimmesdale , the highly regarded town minister, and becomes pregnant with a daughter, whom she names Pearl. She is then Publicly Vilified and forced to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her clothing to identify her as an adulteress, but loyally refuses to reveal the identity of her lover. She accepts the punishment with grace and refuses to be defeated by the shame inflicted upon her by her society. Hester's virtue becomes increasingly evident to the reader, while the self-described "virtuous" community (especially the power structure) vilify her, and are shown in varying states of moral decay and self-regard. Hester only partially regains her community's favor through good deeds and an admirable character by the end of her life. Dimmesdale, knowing that the punishment for his sin will be shame or execution, does not admit his relationship with Prynne. In his role as minister he dutifully pillories and interrogates Hester in the town square about her sin and the identity of the father. He maintains his righteous image, but internally he is dogged by his guilt and the shame of his weakness and hypocrisy. He receives admiration while Hester receives social contempt. Prynne's husband, Roger Chillingworth , reappears without disclosing his identity to any but Hester. Suspecting the identity of Hester's partner, he becomes Dimmesdale's caretaker and exacts his revenge by exacerbating his guilt, while keeping him alive physically. Ultimately Dimmesdale, driven to full public disclosure by his ill health, collapses and dies delivering himself from his earthly tormentor and personal anguish. It is noteworthy that hester means "hidden" in Hebrew -- this word is associated with feminine modesty and hiddeness, virtues that Hester is shown to possess despite her adulterous affair. LITERARY, THEATRICAL, AND CINEMATIC ADAPTATIONS
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