Hester deals with this situation by recalling pastime reminiscences of living in England and her childhood. These recollections help her realize that she is someone, and won't let society change her from just one mistake. This causes Hester's emotion and psychological state to change. Hester now knows her own realities of shame and must become a new person. She can't let the sin she has committed change who she is. A portrayal of this change is expressed when Hester says, "Could it be true? She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast, that it sent forth a cry; she turned her eyes downward at the scarlet letter, and even touched it with her finger, to assure herself that the infant and the shame were real. Yes!-these were her realities,-all else had vanished." (51). This idea represents how Hester accepts her realities and that she must become a new person. Hester now has changed and is self-reliant in a sense that she has accepted herself, which is against the Puritan belief system. Her psychological state is now based on motivation rather than misery so she can continue on with her life. From then on, Hester will be separated from society and will have to live with it. She chooses to live at a cottage on the edge of town, which ties Hester to the strict morals of society but also lets her live a liberated life of her own. Other characters are also affected in the first scaffold scene. .
The first scaffold scene also affects Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. Dimmesdale's emotions lie with tremendous remorse for the sin he has committed. He feels he should be on the scaffold along with Hester, but because of his job as the minister, he can't. Dimmesdale faces a moral dilemma that causes him to form internal sin. He knows he should tell the truth, but chooses not to. This internal sin kept within Dimmesdale causes conflict to arise because he has to face this guilt every day of his life.
