"The chain that bound her here was of iron links, and galling to her inmost soul, but never could be broken." -Hawthorne
When Hester's sentence is finally over, she passes up the opportunity of leaving the town. Instead she decides to remain in the town to suffer through her guilt. She was granted the license to live in a small, abandoned cottage on the outskirts of the town. A lonley cottage near the shore. The shore representing Hester's yearning to leave. The chain is a symbol in the novel, that reprsents the strength of Hester's guilt. Her guilt is compared to an iron chain that forces her to stay where she is. Pearl's father lives in the town, and she obviously doesn't want to move away from him.  
    In the Novel, Hester is gifted with a skill that makes a living for her and her little daughter Pearl. She can make beautiful clothing. Her work can be found all over the town. It can be found on babies, women, men and even the dead. Though she makes these garmets, she is prohibited to make a wedding dress as another punishment and indicator for her sin.  There's a sense of lonlieness and isolation in this chapter when it describes Hester's life. She can't go anywhere withought being reminded of her sin, becauses it's right there on her chest. Through her punishment she had become more sensitive to what people that of her:
    "From first to last, in short, Hester Prynne had always this dreadful agony in feeling a human eye upon the token; the spot never grew callous; it seemed, on the contrary, to grow more sensitive with daily torture."-Hawthorne