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The Effects Of Sin In The Scarlet

Letter Essay, Research Paper


The Effects of Sin in The Scarlet Letter


Sin is the main theme in the Scarlet Letter. All of the characters in the book


were somehow affected by the main sin, which was adultery. The three main


characters were the most widely affected, and their whole lives were molded by the


way they dealt with the sin. The sin surrounds, encloses, and strangles them.


There was no escaping from its harsh consequences.


Hester Prynne’s sin was as an adulteress, and the result of this was that she


had to wear the scarlet letter “A.” She feels that her sin has taken away everything


she had, and given her one thing in return; her baby. Although she had dignity and


pride when she first stepped out of the prison and when she stood upon the scaffold


this “A” unfamilarized and seperated her from the community, and she stood alone


with her child as she does for the most part of her life following this event. From


then on, she was to live away from the community with her baby, Pearl, and was


shunned by everyone. The sin she has committed has made her think that death


would be an easy way out and that she deserves little, for she says, “I have thought


of death, have wished for it, would have even prayed for it, were it fit that such as I


should pray for anything.” Throughout the next years, the sin Hester committed


changes her personality and identity. Once a beautiful woman, Hester now looks


plain and drab. Once passionate, she is now somber and serious. She had


contained a precious quality of womanhood that has now faded away. Her plain


gray clothes symbolize her temperament and disposition. There are also good


effects that the sin has on her. She becomes more giving and caring, and is


endlessly helping the poor and sick and doing neighbors favors. Hester feels that


she owes it to the community, and is also forcing herself into a life of service to


others. The sin stays with her throughout her life, and even when she leaves her


town, she feels obligated to come back and fullfill her punishment. The sin made


her lifestyle worse, but it changed her character somewhat for the better.


Arthur Dimmesdale, a reverend in the Puritan Church, committed the sin of


adultery with Hester. The difference between their cases was that Dimmesdale did


not confess until seven years after the crime took place. Although he neve

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received a punishment from the government as Hester did, he punished himself


night and day. He was severely tortured with guilt in his heart, and carried out


prolonged vigils, fasts, and other physical damage to himself. As a result of not


confessing his sin, he despised himself above all other things. The fact that


his parishoners love him more than they had after he told a sermon about


hypocrites makes him loathe himself all the more. Over the seven years that


this story takes place in, Dimmesdale becomes very ill. He becomes pale,


nervous and sickly. After a while, it gets to the point where he uses a cane to


walk, and people are afraid for his life. The reason for his illness is not


disease, but the effect of sin and guilt on his heart. Finally, after putting


himself through a living hell for seven years, Dimmesdale’s dying words are


his confession.


Roger Chillingworth comes to Boston to seek out his wife, Hester


Prynne. When he arrives, she is standing upon a scaffold with a baby in her


arms. After finding out what was going on, the first thing he says is “It irks me,


nevertheless, that the partner of her inquity should not, at least, stand on the


scaffold by her side. But he will be known!- he will be known!- he will be known!”


This foreshadows the sin that he commits, which is greater than Hester and


Dimmesdales’. Chillingworth devotes his entire life to finding Hester’s partner in


crime and punishing him. He suspects Dimmesdale and so becomes his doctor and


moves in with him. Once he is certain of his culprit, he keeps him alive to live in


agony. The effect of his great sin on his own character is that of a complete


transformation to evil. His physical characteristics become twisted and corrupted,


as does his soul and life purpose. His one-track mind leads him to eventual self-


deterioration. He is the worst sinner in the book, and once his transformation was


complete, there was no turning back.


The way sin affects the lives of the characters in the book, and the way they


each deal with it is both enlightening and unsettling. In a way, one can see why the


characters acted they way they did, but it’s unsettling to see them end up the way


they did. If there is one thing to learn from The Scarlet Letter, it is not to give in to


sin, and if you already have, own up to it and learn from it.

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