Meanwhile, Hester has undergone a total change in personality. She seems to have lost a lot of her humanity after nearly a decade of relative isolation. She is very cold, impersonal, stoic, and rational. However, despite all of the good deeds she has done, she is still plagued by guilt for continuing to withhold Roger's identity from Dimmesdale.
--Wald der Hypokoristische
Keep in mind that Hawthorne tells us that those in authority have been much slower to accept the change in Hester. He says that they have built a logical structure justifying her punishment which they find difficult to release. Hester does not seem to be repentant about her crime -- the one that has brought her the scarlet letter. She certainly follows the rules of the society in which she lives, but she does not seem to 'buy it' if that term makes any sense to you. The question that I keep returning to is whether the Puritan methods have worked. Even if Hester has not 'bought it' the punishment seems to have made her a better person.
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