In the early American novel The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses his transcendentalist view of sin and identity in a rigid Puritan society Transcendentalism emphasizes natural law and the individuals ability to determine what just Directly contrasting this view Calvinism is based on stagnate laws with severe consequences The protagonist Hester faces such consequence when she is prosecuted as an adulteress When first introducing Hester in chapter two Hawthorne vividly describes her l