Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a story about Hester Prynne, a woman who commits a sin. She is crammed with many feelings surrounding that sin such as pride. Her sin is a one of passion. Hester Prynne’s sin is adultery. She commits adultery with the Reverend Dimmesdale. This sin is regarded very seriously by the Puritans and is often punishable by death. The Reverend Dimmesdale is another character that demonstrates the effects of sin. He commits the same offense that Hester commits, adultery. The difference between Dimmesdale and Hester is that Dimmesdale was not publicly punished for his crime. This makes him feel extremely guilty. This feeling of guilt was so atrocious that it mentally and physically withers him, as he feels a very strong need to repent and cleanse his soul. Dimmesdale’s sin is unnoticed. Hester is unable to hide her wrongdoing. Their act of adultery resulted in a child. Her punishment for her crime is to spend a few hours on the scaffold to face public humiliation and wear the letter “A” on her clothes for the rest of her life. The consequences, which Hester faces, are the result of her admission of guilt. This proved to be much less harsh then