Real quick, you have to understand that The
Scarlet Letter (being about a sin in the Puritan population) is going to deal
with some matters that are highly spiritual. These matters refer to an on-going contrast
between good and evil, angels and demons, and God and the
Devil.
This sentence is a topic sentence of a new paragraph
that is indicating a transition into a new topic. The previous paragraph cites the word
"speculation" which in context means that Hester was free to think. (Free thinking
wouldn't have been common for Puritans... Bible, bible, bible was more their way) Before
the quote you cite, the text says:
"In her lonesome cottage... thoughts
visited her, such as dared to enter no other dwelling in New England;
shadowy guests, that would have been as perilous as demons to their
entertainer, could they have been seen so much as knocking at her
door."
This quote refers to
evil thought, it almost calls them demons but doesn't. The fact that these thoughts were
almost visible or capable of knocking at her door demonstrates how real it felt to
her.
Then the quote you cite was written. Her speculating
or wondering about the other world, the spiritual world for good or for evil was done
with great boldness. She did not fear it. If God or Satan tried to talk audibly with
most anyone today it would scare us to death. But, she didn't let on that she had these
moments. In fact, she "conform[ed] with the most perfect quietude" to the regular events
going on in the society. She continued about her way as if there was no real and present
spiritual world that affected her.
After your quote,
Hawthorne goes on to write about how this tangibly shakes out in the obviously
spiritually afflicted Pearl that Hester has to wrestle with on a daily
basis.
In short, Hester has some inner demons she fights
with, but she works really hard to keep that to herself and not reveal it to
society.
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