Fiercely romantic and hugely influential, The Scarlet Letter is the tale of Hester Prynn, imprisoned, publicly shamed, and forced to wear a scarlet 'A' for committing adultery and bearing an illegitimate child, Pearl. In their small, Puritan village, Hester and her daughter struggle to survive, but in this searing study of the tension between private and public existence, Hester Prynn's inner strength and quiet dignity means she has frequently been seen as one of the first great heroines of American fiction.