Examples can be seen later in the Scarlet Letter of villagers changing their views on Hester. A very valid example of this could be when the townspeople began to treat Hester better. As time progressed, and people began to see Hester's giving of her time and effort to clothe the needy people began to respect her more. The culmination of this would be the attempt to remove her requirement to wear the A. The movement failed, but it still proves that several people began to forgive her, even after her experience of public humiliation and permanent punishment. Interestingly the most valid argument for this point from the sermon is the sermon's lack of discussion of forgiveness. The lack of text about forgiveness implies that religion at the time did not excessively preach forgiveness for sinners. This could explain the cruelty in the groups. Where as immoral ideas seem more acceptable when made in a group, individually it is hard to uphold them. This applies directly to the punishment of Hester, as when it was a popular issue, many citizens scolded Hester for her actions, however on an individual basis, people began to take a more sympathetic