The Scaffold In The Scaffold Letter
Hester endures disgrace and public humiliation in the scaffold as a form of punishment for her sins. The scaffold represents guilt for Dimmesdale due to regrets in regards to not confessing his sins. Furthermore, it also represents freedom for Dimmesdale at another occasion in the novel, he stands in the scaffold in his final moments and feels liberated and free with his final revelation. Although rumored that Hawthorne found a letter 'A' while locked away in his mother's attic, I could only assume he would of never thought about the story behind it, a woman disgraced, and a man guilty, freed and then dead.