Demonstrate how the Puritan community in The Scarlet Letter controls Hester's and Pearl's lives.The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

In his classic novel, The Scarlet
Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the themes of legalism, sin, and
guilt, themes that all relate to Puritanism.  Legalism, or over-emphasis on discipline
of conduct, is the guiding force of the Puritan community in which Hester Prynne is
punished.  Obedience to the law, not faith in God's grace, is the pre-eminent principle
of redemption for the Puritan community.  This neglect of mercy is what controls
Hester's life and affects little Pearl.

For one thing,
Hester is made to live on the edge of town and is ostracized further as she is marked
with the scarlet A upon her bosom.  When people encounter her they
move to the side or look away.  The other children mock and taunt Pearl.  When Hester
and Pearl arrive at the governor's hall, Governor Bellingham and the Reverend Wilson
laugh and call Pearl a little bird of scarlet plummage, an elf-child, a naughty fairy. 
Worse yet, some of the Puritans hold that she is a "demon
offspring." 

Another way in which Hester is treated by the
community is in its ostracism.  While she sews for many of the prominent members of the
community, she is never allowed to make a wedding dress or any of the accoutrements.
While the Puritan code never truly overcomes Hester's independent passions, she does
acknowledge her guilt and boldly displays it to the world.  Her elaborate embroidery,
her dressing of Pearl is such bold color, and her wearing of the A
long after she needs to all demonstrate Hester's willingness to follow Puritan
legalism.  She tells Dimmesdale in their meeting in the
forest,

"Truth
was the one virtue which I might have held fast, and did hold fast, through all
extremity...A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other
side."

In accepting her
guilt, Hester Prynne learns from her sin, and Pearl becomes more human after her father,
Mr. Dimmesdale, acknowledges her.  Hawthorne writes,

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The scarlet letter was her passport into regions
where other women dared not tread.  Shame, Despair, Solitude!  These had been her
teachers,--stern and wild ones,--and they had made her
strong...

As a result of the
legalism of The Scarlet Letter's magistrates and the guilt from her
sin, Hester emerges from her experiences as a woman capable of helping many others; she
attains respect and finds some contentment.  Her daughter Pearl becomes truly human and
lives a full life in England.