Sins In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

The Sins of the Scarlet Letter Those who have a spiritual background would argue that all sin is equal, and that no sin is greater than any other. However, others would argue that committing adultery is greater than gossiping, or telling a lie. The novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne emphasizes the difference in sins. Although each of the characters commits their own sin, each of them could be argued as the one with the greatest. Through Dimmesdale’s hypocrisy, deception, and adultery, his sin is the greatest. Dimmesdale is the minister of the Puritan town he lives in. To everyone in the town, Dimmesdale is perceived as the perfect man, however, his hypocrisy and dishonesty outweighs the sin of Hester and Chillingsworth. Hawthorne writes, “Hester Prynne… I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer... though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, as it were—to add hypocrisy to sin (Hawthorne 129). Dimmesdale is almost speaking as a
This shows how bad he felt about his sin that he went through all that trouble to be new again, however he could have simply just admitted to it. Though it’s true that Chillingworth is a heartless man, he was open with his mistakes, as well as his search for revenge. Unlike Dimmesdale, he did not sin against himself. Also, Hesters sin is open up to the townspeople and she accepts her punishment. Dimmesdale is too afraid of what others will think to even admit his sin. He is ashamed, and nonetheless a coward. Dimmesdale’s sin is greater than those of Hester’s or Chillingsworth’s because not only is he a hypocrite, he also commits adultery and tries to hide it from his people who believe him to be the highest of the