"The penalty thereof is death. But in their great mercy and tenderness of heart, they have doomed Mistress Prynne to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory" (59).
In the quote above a townsman is speaking and giving his personal opinion of Hester Prynne. From what this townsman had said, he feels as if the town is doing Prynne a favor by not sentencing her to death. That her punishment was not that big of a deal. What seems to get everyone upset is the fact that Prynne embraces everything that was meant to be as punishment.
"After her return to prison, Hester Prynne was found to be in a state of nervous excitement that demanded constant watchfulness lest she should perpetrate violence on herself" (65).
This is what has the townspeople curious. Why is she so happy after being looked down upon and treated poorly? Hester Prynne finds no shame in her acts and the fact that she has no shame is making the people nervous. In the quote above, Prynne is basically put on a special watch because they find her excitement to be abnormal and out of the ordinary.
Did the author purposely make most males in the novel appear suspicious and possible candidates to be the baby's father?
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