Chapter 5 serves the purposes of filling in background information about Hester and Pearl and beginning the development of Hester and the scarlet as two of the major symbols of the romance. By positioning Hester’s cottage between the town and the wilderness, physically isolated from the community, the author confirms and builds the image of her that was portrayed in the first scaffold scene — that of an outcast of society being punished for her sin/crime and as a product of nature. Society views her ". . . as the figure, the body, the reality of sin.”
Despite Hester's apparent humility and her refusal to strike back at the community, she resents and inwardly rebels against the viciousness of her Puritan persecutors. She becomes a living symbol of sin to the townspeople, who view her not as an individual but as the embodiment of evil in the world. Twice in this chapter, Hawthorne alludes to the community’s using Hester’s errant behavior as a testament of immorality. For moralists, she represents woman’s frailty and sinful passion, and when she attends church, she is often the subject of the preacher’s sermon.
Banished by society to live her life forever as an outcast, Hester’s skill in needlework is nevertheless in great demand. Hawthorne derisively condemns Boston’s Puritan citizens throughout the novel, but here in Chapter 5 his criticism is especially sharp. The very community members most appalled by Hester’s past conduct favor her sewing skills, but they deem their demand for her work almost as charity, as if they are doing her the favor in having her sew garments for them. Their small-minded and contemptuous attitudes are best exemplified in their refusal to allow Hester to sew garments for weddings, as if she would contaminate the sacredness of marriage were she to do so.
