The Scarlet Letter

What is the usual penalty for adultery, according to the townsman. In what way is Hester to be punished ?

Chapters 1-4 reading guide.

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The usual penalty is death, but Hester will have to stand on the platform three hors and wear the letter of shame;

"The penalty thereof is death. But, in their great mercy and tenderness of heart, they have doomed Mistress Prynne to stand only a space of three hours on the platform of the pillory, and then and thereafter, for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom."

Source(s)

The Scarlet Letter/ Chapter 3