A pure hand needs no glove to cover it.'Hester Prynne is condemned to wear the scarlet embroidered letter A on her breast, as punishment for her adultery. She resists all attempts of the 17th Century Boston clergy to make her reveal the name of her child's father. Her husband, an old physician who had remained in Europe, arrives in America to see her on the pillory. Assuming the name of Roger Chillingworth, he seeks revenge … So begins the chain of events in the story often referred to as