the adulterous hester prynne in the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne Hester's redemption never materializes in the text and the minister's  4  nathaniel hawthorne, the scarlet letter (new york, ww norton & company,  1988), 123  in which dimmesdale's confession of adultery represents a mirror  image of his  the scarlet letter as the gradual socialization of hester prynne ( interpreted.