The main allusion would be David and Bathsheba. Their story involved adultery and murder. King David sent Bathsheba's husband to war so that he could truly be with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11). This allusion was mentioned to compare Prynne and Dimmesdale's relationship to that of one with greater consequences. Cain was mentioned because he committed the first murder and was given a specific sign to symbolize his murder (Gen. 4.15). “With his native energy of character and his rare ability, he could not wholly repel her, though he left her a mark more intolerable to a woman's heart than that which marked Cain's brow” (Hawthorne 87). Hester was made to wear the letter “A” which caused people to treat her as if she were the mark of Cain. However, her skills were needed in the community and she wasn't entirely needed