"Who speaks?!? Answered the minister. Gathering himself quickly up, he stood more erect, like a man taken by surprise in a mood to which he was reluctant to have witnesses. Throwing his eyes anxiously in the direction of the voice, he indistinctly beheld a form under the trees, clad in garments so sombre, and so little relieved from the gray twilight into which the clouded sky and the heavy foliage had darkened the noontide, that he knew not whether it were a woman or a shadow. It may be, that his pathway through life was haunted thus, by a spectre that had stolen out from among his thoughts."
Arthur truly epitomizes the society as a whole with his startling reaction upon hearing his name spoken by Hester. He slumps and is obviously being himself, crouching/writhing in pain of the self-inflicted A carved upon his chest and stooping with emotional turmoil. When presented with a social encounter, he promptly turns to a false readiness, standing straight up and hiding his outward pain from any witnesses.
The reaction of Arthur is symbolic of the society as a whole because the grand idea of those who sinned are presented as the worst people to have ever existed and deserve to get rusty nails hammered into their eyeballs. Yet, everyone sins, but no one is willing to accept it, therefore everyone must struggle to hide their guilt and keep it within themselves. (Leading to their deaths.)
The description of his apparel and surroundings further reinforces this. His sombre clothing, the cloudy (Gray) sky, the gray twilight, darkened the noontide, Hester's shadow. All are colourless, and emotionless, one-sided depictions which coincide with the narrow-mindedness of the culture the Puritan religion has set up.
Good descriptions of surroundings to reinforce idea of society. You could further connect this to the descriptions of the town at the beginning of the book and contrast this with the colorful descriptions of nature - such as the rose bush.
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