In all her intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she inhabited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature by other organs and senses than the rest of human kind. (59).
Every day Hester is "continually, and in a thousand ways" (60) reminded of her sin. The scarlet "A" that she wears is a symbol of her sin and when strangers looked upon the letter "they branded it afresh" (60) upon Hester's soul. Not only one who looked upon the letter with a new eye, but also one who had grown accustomed to seeing the letter "had likewise its own anguish to inflict"(61). Hester is judged by stranger and acquaintance alike for the rest of her life because of the "A" she wears. Although many people in the town begin to think of the "A" as standing for something good, such s "Able," Hester can not always escape the eyes of those who do not know her charity. Towards the end of the novel, Hester is reminded of the quickness of people to come to conclusions about people and how she will always be susceptible to such a judgmental analysis. .
There were many people present from the country roundabout, who had oft heard of the scarlet letter These, after exhausting other modes of amusement, now thronged about Hester Prynne with rude and boorish intrusiveness and stood, fixed there by the centrifugal force of the repugnance, which the mystic symbol inspired. (166) .
Hester's sin also has a dramatic effect on her emotional state and her thoughts. When Hester firsts walks forth from the prison, she begins her life outwardly wearing her shame in the form of the scarlet letter and she "must sustain or sink beneath it" (55). .
She could no longer borrow from the future to help her through the present-day grief.