In The Scarlet Letter, what was the purpose of Hester Prynne's punishment?

While
deterrence is an obvious motive for the punishment meted out to , there are subtler reasons
behind it as well. These present themselves when we consider the nature of the penalty. After
all, there would have been little outcry if instead of pinning the Scarlet Letter on Hester, the
town fathers had chosen instead to summarily hang her. One may fairly ask why they choose not to
execute her.  First,and his associates still hope that Hester will eventually give up the name
of her guilty lover. Subjecting her to such an extended term of ignominy will, they reason,
increase the chances of Hester succumbing to what they mistakenly believe to...