Sin In The Scarlett Letter

Each character in The Scarlet Letter has their own sin and they deal with it in different ways. The most obvious of these characters is Hester. Hester’s sin of adultery was the basis for the first half of the story. Hester was constantly burdened made aware of her sin with the scarlet letter attached to her breast, but she was able to deal with her sin in a different way. “Elsewhere the token of sin, it was the taper of the sick chamber. It had even thrown its gleam, in the sufferer's bard extremity, across the verge of time. It had shown him where to set his foot, while the light of earth was fast becoming dim, and ere the light of futurity could reach him. In such emergencies Hester's nature showed itself warm and rich—a well-spring of human
She was self-ordained a Sister of Mercy, or, we may rather say, the world's heavy hand had so ordained her, when neither the world nor she looked forward to this result. The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her—so much power to do, and power to sympathise—that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able, so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength.” (149) By standing for herself and showing the townspeople that she was actually a decent person, it altered their perception of her. Also knowing that she was already paying the price with the scarlet letter allowed her to focus on other things like helping the needy and raising Pearl. But on the other hand knowing that the price was not being payed ended up destroying Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale’s sin was not only adultery with Hester but also trying to keep it a
As written by Hawthorne, “In Mr. Dimmesdale's secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge. Oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied it on his own shoulders, laughing bitterly at himself the while, and smiting so much the more pitilessly because of that bitter laugh. It was his custom, too, as it has been that of many other pious Puritans, to fast—not however, like them, in order to purify the body, and render it the fitter medium of celestial illumination—but rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance...And now, through the chamber which these spectral thoughts had made so ghastly, glided Hester Prynne leading along little Pearl, in her scarlet garb, and pointing her forefinger, first at the scarlet letter on her bosom, and then at the clergyman's own breast.” (134) This guilt tortured Dimmesdale to the point he carved his own scarlet letter into his breast. But both of the sins of Hester and Dimmesdale were done out of love. They loved each other when they had committed adultery and Hester thought Chillingworth to be dead due to his nine year