Hester Prynne is the protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel 'The Scarlet Letter'. She is a young woman who has an affair with a minister and gives birth to a daughter, Pearl. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter 'A' on her clothing as punishment for her adultery. She is ostracized by the Puritan community in which she lives, but eventually finds redemption through her strength and courage.