Lastly, in lieu of these shifting scenes, came back the rude market-place of the Puritan settlement, with all the townspeople as
sembled and levelling their stern regards at Hester Prynne,—yes, at herself,—who stood on the scaffold of the pillory, an infant on her arm, and the letter A, in scarlet, fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom! What is the effect of the underlined words in this excerpt?
The effect of the underlined words: -yes, at herself- is repetitive and argumentative at the same time. Since in saying "to herself" she is saying the same thing but in other words and at the same time, she argues and reinforces what she says so that she understands more what she means. By saying "to herself" leads the reader to what is being said about the person.
If you like to listen to music while writing, choose music without words or ambient noise, for example, the sound of water. Almost every study that I looked at found that music with lyrics hindered concentration and productivity. However, one study showed that low-level ambient noise can improve creativity.
