The tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. S… - Nathaniel Hawthorne

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Engraved portrait of Nathaniel Hawthorne, facing right

The tendency of her fate and fortunes had been to set her free. The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, — stern and wild ones, — and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.

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About Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne (4 July 1804 – 19 May 1864) was an American writer remembered for his romance novels (The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, and The Marble Faun) and short stories.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, Mathew Benjamin Brady (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Pen Names: Monsieur de l’Aubépine
Birth Name: Nathaniel Hathorne
Alternative Names: Monsieur de l'Aubépine N. H.

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Individuals in private life, meanwhile, had quite forgiven Hester Prynne for her frailty; nay, more, they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that one sin for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since.

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