In the Custom House, Hawthorne called the piece of scarlet cloth a treasure, a riddle, and a mystic symbol. How do these references prepare the reader for the novel that is to follow.

In this section, the meaning of the scarlet cloth is mysterious. In describing the cloth as a treasure.... a mystic symbol, the reader is misled as to its true meaning. A treasure is something to cherish... something valuable, something we perceive as good, when in fact, its true meaning is neither.