The rose bush's beauty forms a striking contrast to all that surrounds it – as later the beautifully embroidered scarlet "A" will be held out in part as an invitation to find "some sweet moral blossom" in the ensuing, tragic tale and in part as an image that "the deep heart of nature" (perhaps God) may look more kind on the errant Hester and her child than her Puritan neighbors do。 Throughout the work, the nature images contrast with the stark darkness of the Puritans and their systems。 

Chillingworth's misshapen body reflects (or symbolizes) the anger in his soul, which builds as the novel progresses, similar to the way Dimmesdale's illness reveals his inner turmoil。 The outward man reflects the condition of the heart; an observation thought to be inspired by the deterioration of Edgar Allan Poe, whom Hawthorne "much admired"。

Another theme is the extreme legalism of the Puritans and how Hester chooses not to conform to their rules and beliefs。 Hester was rejected by the villagers even though she spent her life doing what she could to help the sick and the poor。 Because of the socialshunning, she spent her life mostly in solitude, and wouldn't go to church。文献综述

As a result, she retreats into her own mind and her own thinking。 Her thoughts begin to stretch and go beyond what would be considered by the Puritans as safe or even Christian。 She still sees her sin, but begins to look on it differently than the villagers ever have。 She begins to believe that a person's earthly sins don't necessarily condemn them。 She even goes so far as to tell Dimmesdale that their sin has been paid for by their daily penance and that their sin won't keep them from getting to heaven, however, the Puritans believed that such a sin surely condemns。

But Hester had been alienated from the Puritan society, both in her physical life and spiritual life。 When Dimmesdale dies, she knows she has to move on because she can no longer conform to the Puritans' strictness。 Her thinking is free from religious bounds and she has established her own different moral standards and beliefs。