Yes I know its late, but hey, better late than never...
Its always the small details that struck me about a work and The Scarlet Letter is no different. When Hester approaches the gate to give the embroidered gloves to the governor, the bond-servant at the gate sees her wearing a scarlet letter and has no clue what it is or of its significance. He just assumes from her determination on entering the mansion that she is of some importance and high status. I can only imagine that this is just one of many subtle hints Hawthorne placed into the story to show the meaninglessness of the badge. This can correlate to what we discussed about semiotics that the bond-servant thought the badge meant the total opposite of what it was meant to convey.