Hester is based on Hester Prynne, the (fictional) main character from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel
The Scarlet Letter; in that book, Hester is ostracized and forced to wear a scarlet “A” after it is revealed that she has committed adultery. By pairing Tituba and Hester, Condé highlights the feminist themes in her novel, zooming in on the sexual repression and hypocrisy that she believes defined early America.