The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, chronicles the story of a Puritan woman whose husband had gone missing. Horror of horrors, she ended up pregnant. She was thrown in jail, where she gave birth. Upon her release, she was forced to wear a scarlet “A” on her clothing for the rest of her life. She was also shunned by the community.

We’d like to think that something like this didn’t happen in reality. Unfortunately, it did. A Puritan woman who cheated on her husband was sentenced to be whipped in public. After enduring a whipping in her own community, she was then taken to the town where the adultery took place. While there, she received a second whipping. Since that wasn’t humiliating enough, she was forced to wear the letters “AD” on her clothing so that everyone knew she was an adulteress. Just like in The Scarlet Letter.Brother Printer Support Number

Women would also be punished by being driven through town in a cart while being whipped. Some were actually executed for their “crime.” Notice these punishments were all for women. When a man committed adultery, he was charged with the lesser crime of fornication. Women were charged with the more serious crime of adultery because they were considered to be temptresses. HP Contact Number