Scarlett Letter pg. 49

Entry 5 

'the door of the jail being flung open from within, there appeared, in the first place, like a black shadow emerging into the sunshine, the grim and grisly presence of the town-beadle, with a sword by his side ad his staff of office in his hand.' 

'stretching forth the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until, on the threshold of the prison-door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity'

Living in this community is like being in jail; everyone is the same and no one is independent. Everyone has thoughts, looks, and beliefs that are the same. I think the town-crier in this case is like the Grim Reaper. He's taking her away from the jail to a society full of judgement and accusations. Living in a jail cell is better than living or trying to live there.

The Grim Reaper is a personification of death. From the 15th century onwards, came to be shown as a skeletal figure carrying a large scythe and clothed in a black cloak with a hood. It's thought the Grim Reaper is able to actually cause the victim's death, or sometimes serve to sever the last ties between the soul and the body and to guide the deceased to the next world without having any control over the fact of the victim's death.