Asrai Brainerd Ms. Morrison Identity & Society 23 March, 2016 In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester accepts their sin and uses it to help the townspeople that are struggling with their own transgressions, while Dimmesdale lets their sin drain him until he becomes weak and empty inside. The change we see in both major characters is actually who they are on the inside showing through their exterior facade. Hester goes from almost rebellious of what her religion has taught her, to someone that people in town go to advice to on how to be a good Puritan in their almost utopian society. While Dimmesdale starts out seeming morally strong because of his position in the town, he has secretly committed a crime that would get both him and Hester executed. This war inside of him is what leads people to recognize how much of a coward he truly is. …show more content…
“…she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbors.” (p51.) The Hester seen in the first scene of the novel is not ashamed of her crime, she accepts her punishment and is unwilling to break under the pressure being put on her to tell the town who her partner was. Hester’s actions go to show that she knows her crime is something she has to accept on her own, and that what the people in the town think of her doesn't matter, only what God thinks matters. While Hester may be seen as weak by the people of the town because she gave into lust like any sinner would, the people that see the situation from the outside can see that Hester is truly strong because she accepts all of the fault for a crime she and Dimmesdale