When questioned about the identity of her child's father, Hester resolutely refuses to hand him over, crying "I will not speak!... my child must seek a heavenly Father; will ever know an earthly one!” (47).Hester takes the full brunt of the adultery, allowing Dimmesdale to continue with his life and freeing him from the public ridicule the magistrates impose on her. She then remains on the scaffold for three hours, subject to the contempt and condescending comments of the citizens. However, Hester bears it all “with glassy eyes and an air of weary indifference” (48). defiant strength in the face of harsh Puritan law and responds to her crime. Later, when Hester must piece her life back together, she continues to show her iron backbone and sheer determination by using her wonderful talent with work. with irons “to provide food for her prosperous child and herself (56) Some of her customers enjoy making snide comments and lewd praise towards Hester as she works, yet Hester never gives them the satisfaction of hers.” reaction. Nathaniel Hawthorne paints Hester Prynne as a person, a person who has made mistakes, but who has worked tirelessly to atone for them. Hawthorne's use of positive diction and profound imagery also sets the tone of Hester as a woman scorned, but