‘The Scarlet Letter’ was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel dwells upon the story of woman who commits adultery. As a result, the whole town despises her for her actions. The book ends with Dimmesdale giving a powerful speech and collapsing on the floor and dying before he is able to escape to Europe with Hester and Pearl. However, there could be other options which is the reason why the subject of the alternate ending is so interesting in terms of the novel.
For instance, Dimmesdale could have stayed alive which would mean that he could actually run with with Hester and Pearl to Europe and live there happily ever after. However, he could also change his mind. Thus, Hester would have been left alone with her daughter and she would need to find a way how to survive in a cruel world, especially in a town where everybody hates her. Surely, she could have moved to another city with Pearl in order to escape the oppression of a Puritan society.
Apart from that, Dimmesdale could decide not to admit his sin to the town. Thus, the main question would be whether the guilt would eat him anyway or whether he could manger to continue living knowing that he did not confess. What is more, he would also leave Hester and Pearl alone in their struggle with the burden of life and the society they live in.
Taking everything into consideration, there are tons of possible scenarios regarding the alternate ending to the ‘Scarlet Letter’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The story would have developed in a totally different way in case any of those scenarios actually took place.