Okay, what the heck is up with The Scarlet Letter...?

What it means to me is that society has its values backwards much of the time. Those that society deems good and respectable or prestigious are many times undeserving of the respect and prestige. By the same token, often those who are demonized and considered immoral and undesirable, are many times the really honest and caring. One such example of this is how wealth or vocation has more influence over a person's social status than does character.