We dream in our waking moments, and walk in our sleep.” Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer. He is also remembered for writing the house of the seven Gables, the marble faun, the blithedale romance and Twice-Told tales. Hester Prynne wanted nothing more than to be loved. However, in 17th century Boston, love came from culture, orthodoxy and a closed mind. There was no place in that society for an open-minded love, one that knew no borders. For her love, she indulged in an illicit affair, one that would haunt her forever. Hester became pregnant, and conceived a daughter. Throughout the course of this Novel, she is plagued by guilt, sin and the weight of the legal treachery rampant at the time. Ahead of its time for its themes, this book is considered to be Hawthorne’s finest work.