Hawthorne's beliefs contradicted the beliefs of what most other Puritans believed. Early on in the book, he described the people "being of the most intolerant brood" (Hawthorne 86). When the people found that Hester had Pearl, her daughter, out of wedlock, Hawthorne wrote that the village "scorned them in their hearts and reviled them with their tongue" (Hawthorne 86), proving that the Puritans discriminated people who did not follow their way of life.
The intended audience for "The Scarlet Letter" could be anyone interested in the way people interacted with one another during the late 1840s. This book gave one of the best examples of how important strict religious concepts had to do with the way in which people lived. Hawthorne's approach to writing focused on a combination of culture and law. The Puritan communities felt very strong about the way they believed God wanted them to live. Hawthorne, like other authors during the nineteenth century, took into consideration the relationship of the individual and their community, and the impacts upon society's members, as well as the way in which women were perceived during that time. .
The way in which women were thought of during that time explains the subject of "The Scarlet Letter." Hester Prynne, the protagonist character in the book, married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who had sent Hester to America but did not follow her. During her time there, she had an affair with a Puritan minister by the name of Dimmesdale from which she bore a baby girl, Pearl. Both Hester and Dimmesdale endure internal battles as a result of their situation. Dimmesdale's health suffers as he deals with guilt and Hester must face the wrath of the Puritan community by wearing a red "A" upon her chest as a symbol for what she had done. The underlying thesis of this book is how Nathaniel Hawthorne presents and proves in his writing that the truth is what will set people free.