Context

When The Scarlet Letter was released in the 1850s, readership was enthusiastic, yet at the same time outraged by the portrayal of the protagonist Hester Prynne. The novel was set in the 1640s in Boston, Massachusetts, a Puritan dominated community. Hester was a married woman who was sent to the New England colony by his English husband. After missing for an unknown period, he was considered dead. Eventually she becomes pregnant with an unknown lover, and was shamed and shunned by the local citizens.

Up to this point, the novel might be considered a cautionary tale to the Puritans, however, it is deemed scandalous and "pornographic" for several reasons. For one, Hester was portrayed as a resilient sinner who takes her banishment and crime in stride. On the other hand, her husband, a learned doctor; her lover Dimmesdale, a minister of the church, both behaves unfittingly as a person of their station. The former, neglected Hester for extended periods of time, eventually goes under disguise of a "healer" to exact his revenge. The latter, although tormented by guilt and cares for Hester and their baby, still hides behind a facade of a righteous minister performing sermons. It may struck a nerve with those who seek to ban the novel, as they see it as slanderous.