Mini-Report #2 (The Scarlet Letter Motif) In chapters nine through sixteen, Hawthorne alternates the meaning of the scarlet “A” from adultery to able. The letter now symbolizes Hester’s strength and ability. Metamorphosis says that the townspeople who once condemned her now believed her scarlet "A" to stand for her ability to create beautiful needlework and for her unselfish assistance to the poor and sick (Metamorphosis online). During this section of “The Scarlet Letter,” Hester begins to be recognized for how helpful and skillful she is. She helps out the poor and sick very much and doesn’t ask for anything in return. “She never resisted what society threw at her, nor did she try to envade them when given,” (Scarlet Letter Motifs online). Hester endured so much torture from the town that led them to think that she was a strong and powerful woman. The townspeople believed that no other woman could go through the pain she had gone through and seemed to admired that she was so unselfish after everything she had been put through. Metamorphosis says that the townspeople soon began to believe that the badge served to ward off evil, and Hester grew to be quite loved amongst the people of the town (Metamorphosis online). She soon overcame the shame of her sin through her pure and good soul. Hawthorne states that when the townspeople see the meteor in the shape of an “A”, they take it to symbolize “angel” (Hawthorne Chapter 12). They believe that the meteor fell as a