It was only the darkened house that could contain her. When sunshine came again, she was not there. Her shadow had faded across the threshold. The helpful inmate had departed, without one backward glance to gather up the meed of gratitude, if any were in the hearts of those whom she had served so zealously. Meeting them in the street, she never raised her head to receive their greeting. If they were resolute to accost her, she laid her finger on the scarlet letter and passed on. This might be pride, but was so like humility, that it produced all the softening influence of the latter quality on the public mind. The public is despotic in its temper; it is capable of denying common justice, when too strenuously demanded as a right; but quite as frequently it awards more than justice when the appeal is made, as despots love to have it made, entirely to its generosity. Interpreting Hester Prynne's deportment as an appeal of this nature, society was inclined to show its former victim a more benign countenance than she cared to be favoured with, or, perchance, than she deserved.
只有陰暗的住房才能容納她。當(dāng)太陽再次升起的時候，她已經(jīng)不在了。她的身影跨過門檻消逝了；這個大有助益的親人離去了，根本沒有回過頭來看一眼應(yīng)得的感謝——如果她剛剛?cè)绱藷嵝牡乇M過力的那些人的心中肯于感激她的話。有時在街上遇到他們，她從來不抬頭接受他們的致意。如果他們執(zhí)意要和她搭汕，她就用一個手指按任那紅宇，側(cè)身而過。這或許是驕傲，但極似謙卑，反正在眾人的心目中產(chǎn)生了謙卑品格的全部軟化人心的影響。公眾的情緒是蠻不講理的：當(dāng)常理上的公道作為一種權(quán)利加以過分要求時，可能遭到拒絕；但是一旦完全投其所好、吁請暴虐的人們慷慨大度時，倒常常會得到超出公道的獎賞。由于社會把海絲特·白蘭的舉止解釋成這類性質(zhì)的吁請，因此反倒寧可對其原先的犧牲品，顯示出一種比她所樂于接受的、或者說比她實際應(yīng)得的更加寬厚的態(tài)度。

The rulers, and the wise and learned men of the community, were longer in acknowledging the influence of Hester's good qualities than the people. The prejudices which they shared in common with the latter were fortified in themselves by an iron framework of reasoning, that made it a far tougher labour to expel them. Day by day, nevertheless, their sour and rigid wrinkles were relaxing into something which, in the due course of years, might grow to be an expression of almost benevolence. Thus it was with the men of rank, on whom their eminent position imposed the guardianship of the public morals. Individuals in private life, meanwhile, had quite forgiven Hester Prynne for her frailty; nay, more, they had begun to look upon the scarlet letter as the token, not of that one sin, for which she had borne so long and dreary a penance, but of her many good deeds since. "Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?" they would say to strangers. "It is our Hester- the town's own Hester- who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!" Then, it is true, the propensity of human nature to tell the very worst of itself, when embodied in the person of another, would constrain them to whisper the black scandal of bygone years. It was none the less a fact, however, that, in the eyes of the very men who spoke thus, the scarlet letter had the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom. It imparted to the wearer a kind of sacredness, which enabled her to walk securely amid all peril. Had she fallen among thieves, it would have kept her safe. It was reported, and believed by many, that an Indian had drawn his arrow against the badge, and that the missile struck it, but fell harmless to the ground.
居民區(qū)的統(tǒng)治者和有識之士比起一般百姓花費了更長的時間才認識到海絲特的優(yōu)秀品質(zhì)的影響。他們對海絲特所共同持有的偏見，被推論的鐵框所禁錮，要想擺脫就得付出遠為堅韌的努力。然而，日復(fù)一日，他們臉上那種敵視的僵死的皺紋逐漸松弛下來，伴隨歲月的流逝，可以說變成了一種近乎慈愛的表情。那些身居要位、從而對公共道德負有監(jiān)護之責(zé)的人的情況就是如此。與此同時，不擔(dān)任公務(wù)的普通百姓已經(jīng)差不多徹底原諒了海絲特·白蘭因脆弱而造成的過失；不僅如此，他們還開始不再把那紅字看作是罪過的標(biāo)記——她為此已忍受了多么長時間的陰慘慘的懲罰啊——而是當(dāng)成自那時起的許多善行的象征?！澳憧匆娔莻€佩戴刺繡的徽記的好人了嗎？”他們會對陌生人這樣說。“她是我們的海絲特——我們這鎮(zhèn)上自己的海絲特，她對窮人多么好心腸，對病人多么肯幫忙，對遭難的人多么有安慰啊！”之后，出于人類本性中對別人說三道四的癖病，他們也確實悄聲說起若干年前那樁見不得人的丑事。不過，即使在講話人的心目中，那紅字仍有修女胸前的紅十字的效果。那紅字賦予其佩戴者一種神圣性，使她得以安度一切危難。假若她落入盜賊之手，那紅字也會保她平安無事。據(jù)傳，而且有不少人情以為真，有一個印第安人曾瞄準(zhǔn)那紅字射箭，那飛箭雖然射中目標(biāo)，卻落到了地上，對她毫無傷害。

①“A”本是“通奸”(Adultery)的首字，現(xiàn)在被人們釋作“能干”(Able)的首字。