The Interview

The Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel HAWTHORNE (1804 - 1864)

The story begins in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast. The scarlet letter "A" represents the act of adultery that she has committed; it is to be a symbol of her sin for all to see. She will not reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia)

Listen next episodes of The Scarlet Letter:
A Flood of Sunshine , A Forest Walk , Another View of Hester , Conclusion , Hester and Pearl , Hester and the Physician , Hester at her Needle , Pearl , The Child at the Brook-Side , The Elf-Child and the Minister , The Governor's Hall , The Interior of a Heart , The Leech , The Leech and his Patient , The Minister in a Maze , The Minister's Vigil , The New England Holiday , The Pastor and his Parishioner , The Procession , The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter