discuss the scarlet letter as a condemnation of calvinistic puritanism

The Puritans were into austerity. Sure some of the richer ones wore clothes sewn by Hester but people and places had to look bleak. Women were meant to be submissive and live through a narrow understanding of the Old Testament. Scandal was a self-fulfilling sort of idea. They looked so hard for it so they found it whether it was there or not.The Jail and the Grave were cornerstones of sin.

The Puritan's needed scandal to validate their constant paranoia. They needs public displays on the scaffold to reinforce the fear which kept their ideology alive. Hester's shame is really an extension of Puritan shame in general.