Just because multiple people claim the same thing doesn't make them right.

I did consider what they've said, and I'm starting to love the "It's the Scarlet Letter, something everyone has read, obviously" argument, a story in which women are physically marked instead of Jews.

Also, yes, it's naive to ignore the implications of what people say and read everything strictly based on what's on the page. If that's aggressive to say, then... sorry?