海丝特因犯通奸罪而受到教会惩罚，却坚决不肯说出孩子的父亲是谁。7年过去了，她用善行赢得了人们的尊敬，使胸前那本来代表耻辱的红字变成了美好德行的象征，而经过多年的窥探，海丝特的丈夫齐灵渥斯发现与妻子通奸的原来是“品德高尚”的牧师。对齐灵渥斯的恐惧和隐瞒罪责的煎熬使牧师的健康每况愈下。在生命的最后时刻，他终于在全体信徒面前，用以生命为代价的忏悔换取了道德上的新生。

Chapter 1 The Prison Door
Chapter 2 The Market Place
Chapter 3 The Recognition
Chapter 4 The Interview
Chapter 5 Hester at Her Needle
Chapter 6 Pearl
Chapter 7 The Governor’s Office
Chapter 8 The Strange Child and the Minister
Chapter 9 The Mysterious Roger Chillingworth
Chapter 10 The Doctor and His Patient
Chapter 11 The Inside ofa Heart
Chapter 12 The Minister’S Thought
Chapter 13 AnotherViewofHester
Chapter 14 Hester and the Doctor
Chapter 15 Hester and Pearl
Chapter 16 A ForestW_alk
Chapter 17 The Minister and His Follower
Chapter 18 A Flood ofSunshine
Chapter 19 The Child atthe Stream
Chapter 20 The Minister in Confusion
Chapter 21 The New England Holiday
Chapter 22 The March
Chapter 23 The Discovery of the Scarlet Letter
Chapter 24 Conclusion