In order to assist Nina in completing her final essay on the novel, we studied the final pages of the novel and noted the red/black imagery motif in the closing words of the novel. In this regard, I defined the archaic word "gules", meaning "red." We then studied the narrative technique of the fictional narrator who offers a "moral" for the entire novel. I discussed the reliability of the narrator's conclusions and posed the question: Is this really the theme of the novel? Last, I addressed Nina's questions regarding which of the fictional characters in the novel were historical figures. We noted how Hawthorne lends an air of historical accuracy to what is clearly an imagined "tale."