Throughout history, people have been shaped by the society in which they live. Those who accept the imposed rules and regulations tend to embody and reflect many of the characteristics of the society that guides them. However, those who do not conform and refuse society's norms are often isolated from the contrasting group. Authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne have explored this concept through literature. In her novel, The Scarlet Letter, the protagonist Hester Prynne is presented as an alienated figure from society as a direct result of an adulterous affair revealing the harsh and unsavory truth of Puritan culture and providing a means of criticism for Hawthorne . in Boston in the 17th century, a city dominated both by men and by the norms of Puritan practices. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, is punished, marked with a scarlet A, for her affair which resulted in a pregnancy and consequently the birth of her daughter Pearl. Her lover is later revealed to the reader to be Arthur Dimmesdale, the town's revered minister. Even before Hawthorne introduces these essential characters, he illustrates Hester's separation and struggle through powerful symbols. The first chapter presents the symbolism of the prison door and the wild rose bush. The prison gate “never seemed to have known a youthful era” and was described as “an ugly building” (47). This represents the dark and authoritarian nature of Puritan society. Hawthorne suggests that this is a deeply destabilizing and outdated system. The old gate is surrounded by a magnificent wild rose bush, Hester Prynne. Just as the bush is outside and isolated from the gate, Hester is also removed from society as the novel develops. Roses offer "their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner in the middle of paper......sense among the trees." When Hester and Pearl are no longer subject to society's judgment, they feel free from society's alienation. Hawthorne uses this situation to communicate that the strict limits of Puritan practices are both obsolete and more harmful than beneficial. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is full of passion and sin in a society that forbids it. The consequences and shame reveal the flaws in this system. Hester Prynne is isolated for her actions. Even though society treats her like an outcast, she is still able to survive and become a loving mother and a better person, surpassing the level that her society provides the means for her to reach. Society is an exclusive group that not everyone can agree with. However, while the early Puritan town of Boston was meant to crush Hester, it grew stronger through isolation..