There are many, many examples of textual ambiguity in The Scarlet Letter. What is the overall effect of using this device in a novel? Readers must analyze the ironic statements made by the narrator to determine if the narrator is reliable.
Readers must get a sense of characters through their actions, speech, and thoughts because Hawthorne does not actually describe them directly.
Readers must understand a character's qualities by comparing them to qualities of a different character.
Readers must make their own interpretations of the events in the text rather than relying on the author to explain what he means.