How is King David like Hester Prynne?

There are three key ways that the Biblical King David is like Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter. The first, and most obvious, is that both King David and Hester Prynne commit adultery. David sins by committing adultery with Bathsheba and Hester commits adultery (we learn at the end of the novel) with the Reverend Dimmesdale. 

Both David and Hester are invariably punished for their adulterous acts. Though King David marries...

There are three key ways that the Biblical King David is like Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter. The first, and most obvious, is that both King David and Hester Prynne commit adultery. David sins by committing adultery with Bathsheba and Hester commits adultery (we learn at the end of the novel) with the Reverend Dimmesdale. 

Both David and Hester are invariably punished for their adulterous acts. Though King David marries Bathsheba and tries to atone for his sin, God punishes David by killing their firstborn son when he is only a few days old. God later punishes David by killing his son Absalom, as well, when Absalom rebels against his father and tries to capture the throne.  Hester is punished publicly by her community, is made to wear the scarlet "A," and is shunned for years by everyone in town. Hester also has a child from her adulterous relationship, the strange Pearl. The novel says that although Hester loves Pearl, the child often seems like a punishment for Hester's sins.

Finally, King David and Hester Prynne both repent of their sins and try to make up for their failings. David repents of his sin and God eventually rewards him with another son, Solomon, who will become a great king of Israel. Hester does penance for her sin by living alone with Pearl, by serving the poor and needy, and by continuing to wear her scarlet "A" even after the town would allow her to remove it. The scarlet letter even follows her to her grave since it is carved into her tombstone.