The Theme Of Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'

Nick Donovan
Mrs. Shoemaker
American Lit
3rd Hour
November 15, 2016
Creative Title In The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the great sins of three Puritans secretly tied together by their sins, living in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Hester Prynne begins by committing adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale shares this sin with her, but he continues to sin as the next seven years pass. Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne’s husband, turns himself into a living devil. While it is clear that Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale commit major sins, Roger Chillingworth’s iniquity tops anything either of them do.
Hester Prynne’s only sin during her time in the Massachusetts Bay Colony comes when she committed
Dimmesdale’s first sin occurs when he commits adultery with Hester. Unlike Hester, Dimmesdale does not get caught and continues his role as a clergyman. While Hester is being scrutinized on the scaffold, Dimmesdale reluctantly starts questioning her; he beseeches her to have the father “step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee” (63). This question may sound like he wishes that she will name him, but his heart displays that he desperately wants her to not peg him as the father. Dimmesdale’s desire to remain anonymous is the first step he takes to stay on the track of sin. As the years pass, Hester is forced to raise their daughter, Pearl, by herself. Pearl cannot grow and become the best person she can be without a father figure, but Dimmesdale never makes any attempt to be a father for his daughter. Throughout his seven years of abandonment towards Hester and Pearl, Dimmesdale makes feeble attempts to atone for his sin and tells his congregation that he is “utterly a pollution and is a lie” (132). Dimmesdale knows he is a hypocrite because all of his flimsy attempts result in a unclear confession, that leads to his congregation believing he is in fact more holy every time he speaks of this affair. Dimmesdale goes to great lengths to privately atone for his dirty sins. At his home Dimmesdale keeps “a bloody scourge” and “plied it on his
He enters sin when he believes he can dispassionately pursue and discover Hester’s secret lover. Chillingworth begins his search and quickly latches onto the naive minister. Chillingworth slowly tortures Dimmesdale. As he inflicts more pain, Chillingworth becomes emotionally involved. His continuous tormenting begins to control Dimmesdale. Chillingworth becomes a “chief actor, in the poor minister’s interior world” (129). Dimmesdale’s mind is broken beyond repair. Chillingworth is investing his life in wreaking havoc upon Dimmesdale’s intellect. Chillingworth has a “heart full of torture” and is “deriving his enjoyment thence” (156). Not only is Chillingworth killing Dimmesdale, but he is gloating about the pain he has inflicted upon Dimmesdale. He tells Hester that no “mortal suffer what this man suffer” (157). Chillingworth is causing a man to suffer more than any other ever. It is his lone enjoyment in life. Chillingworth wants Dimmesdale to pay for his abominable sin for all of eternity. To do this, Chillingworth torments Dimmesdale to “disorganize and corrupt his spiritual being” (177). This action will cause Dimmesdale to be unable to atone and rot in Hell for his afterlife. Chillingworth is now a living Devil, which is the climax of his escalation of sins. During this time, Chillingworth makes no efforts at all to atone for these horrific sins. He tells Hester that