I have read the section from 241-245 in The Scarlet Letter and it intrigues me. The laws pertaining to adultery seem so harsh in relation to today's world. Since there are no longer any laws punishing those who commit adultery here in America (that I know of), it seems almost surreal that there were ever such laws to begin with. One can hear about adultery, sometimes quite frquently, in the news today. Most people would probably even know someone who's marriage ended because of it. This is sometimes more commonly referred to as "cheating" on one's spouse.
The laws referred to from the passage suggesting brutal whippings under some circumstances, but most suggested death. Capital punishment was not uncommon according to these laws. It looks like the laws suggested in the passage are so brutal because they follow God's word so closely. In its most literal state, I am almost positive that the Bible has a passage referring to adulteres. It most likely mentioned that they are surely to be sentenced to death. It seems as though in the setting where these laws were active, the governments closely followed the word of God.
The change in there being no law against adultery today is most likely a factor because the government doesn't follow the teachings of the Bible as closely as they once did. The separation of church and state occurred some time ago. Since then, purely biblical laws like adultery are laws no more (almost certainly before then, though). However, it is still frowned upon in society even though some celebrities are known to have cheated, or have even acquired fame by doing so.
It was interesting to read this passage to see how much the laws of the world can transform in just a matter of a few generations.
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