The correct answer is: "People in the community fear becoming similarly shamed."
Indeed, Hester Prynne has been convicted of adultery because of giving birth to a child out of wedlock. This is not only considered a sin by the very religious and Puritan society of her time but a crime under their theocratic laws. Her Scarlett letter is a form of public shaming that completely ostracizes her from her society and most people scorn her for her sin.
