Sometimes parts of novels are very similar to their film counterpart. They act like a mirror to the novel, keeping everything the same and only changing scenes do to time restraints. After reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and watching the film version which is produced by Roland Joffe I realized this was not one of the aformentioned scenarios. The film is different than the novel, and I do not think it's due to time restraints only. The novel serves as the "frame" for the film, but a lot of the interior parts are switched. The film has some added some characters, changed the plot a bit, and definately changed the symbolism involved in the novel. Even the time frame is changed, as the film starts when she comes to the "new world" not at the prison where she was held on the way to the scaffolding...