Hester Prynne’s term of confinement was now at an end ….But now, with this unattended walk from her prison-door, began the daily custom; and she must either sustain and carry it forward by the ordinary resources of her nature, or sink beneath it. She could no longer borrow from the future to help her through her present grief.  To-morrow would bring its own trial with it; so would the next day, and so would the next; each its own trial, and yet the very same that was now so unutterably grievous to be borne.  The days of the far-off future would toil onward, still with the same burden for her to take up, and bear along with her, but never to fling down; for the accumulating days, and added years, would pile up their misery upon the heap of shame.

From   “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hester Prynne comes out of jail after where she was committed because of adultery. This passage from the novel reflects the Puritan mentality that was prevalent at that time. It also shows the importance of determination and strong will: “she must either sustain and carry it forward by the ordinary resources of her nature, or sink beneath it.”  Her steadfast resignation to bear the consequences of her sin anchors the brilliantly-crafted paragraph where time over and over appears as the inexorable witness of her torture.   Unfortunately, some remnants of that tyrannical puritanism still persist nowadays.