Themes: - All stories are based on the theme that everyone sins / everyone should be punished equally for it.(<-- ???) - In "A Double Standard", the conflict lies between woman being punished more than her man. (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2742339/african_american_literature_spotlight.html?cat=2) - "Woman Caught in Adultary" = woman, like hester, caught in her sin and has the whole town against her, when meanwhile they have most likely sinned, also. - "The Scarlet Letter" = hester has sinned and is looked down upon for it, whole town against her, likely sinned also. physical representation of sin (???). Tones: - The tones of the three stories relate because they are bitter and thoughtful (???). Symbolism: - In each story there is some physical representation of sin by the main character, whether symbolic or literal. In "the woman caught in adultary", the symbol is the stones. In "the scarlet letter", the red letter "A". In "a double standard", the representation is the town's disapproval (???). Author's purpose: - Mocking society in which everyone sins but are eager to punish someone that they catch obviously.