We continued to analyze the critical connection between the novel's prologue essay,"The Custom House" and the novel. We noted how the narrator of the prologue is a writer/artist in a stifling environment, just as Hester Prynne is a defiant artist in a stifling Puritan society. Similarly Nina discussed how both the narrator and Hester remain drawn and glued to the location of their sin. I further reviewed the use of certain symbols as animating the conflict between Hester and society. Further, we examined how Pearl herself is a symbol of freedom from harsh societal moral control and rules. In addressing Nina's inquiries as to why Dimmesdale is reluctant to confess his participation in Hester's "sin", we observed Dimmesdale's choices as either punishment by death or a life of moral hypocrisy. I explained the novel raises the question: Which is worse?