Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

“[F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (New International Version, Romans 3:23). The evident tendency of all humans towards sin constitutes one of the central tenets of Christianity, and Christianity’s widespread influence has led to tremendous commentary surrounding the concept. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, from the patently vindictive and malicious Chillingworth to the archetypally pure and holy Dimmesdale, every character has sinned. Each character covers an angle at which Hawthorne presents his ideas about the consequences of sin and the methods of penance for sin.In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne postulates sin gives feelings of regret and corruption of the soul to the point of misery yet captivation to the

He gives Hester Prynne as a positive example to follow and Arthur Dimmesdale as a negative example to avoid. Hester after her punishment took several actions in attempts for penance, including bestowing “all her superfluous means in charity” (Hawthorne 108) and wearing the constant indicator of her sin at all times: “the scarlet letter, which it was her doom to wear” (Hawthorne 107), among other actions. By these actions, she recognizes and accepts her sin while showing remorse and charity. Hawthorne extends this further with the use of Pearl Prynne, an embodiment of her mother’s sin herself. In the forest, when Hester, who had recently “undid the clasp that fastened the scarlet letter, and ... threw it to a distance among the withered leaves” (Hawthorne 219), summons Pearl, Pearl subsequently refuses to come until Hester “[takes] up the scarlet letter, and [fastenes] it again into her bosom” (Hawthorne 227). Hester’s shedding of this symbol represents a departure from stern puritanical law and the disregard of her sin. Pearl, who embodies the scarlet letter, cannot recognize Hester without her sin. Therefore symbolically denoting Hester’s requirement to accept her sin and affirming it as another necessary step in penance. To further cement this, Dimmesdale models the repercussions of not revealing and accepting one’s sin. To Dimmesdale, given his position in society as a minister, his sin appears utterly abominable. Following Dimmesdale’s first interactions with Chillingworth, the pain that his situation has put him in becomes apparent. In all his time as reverend, “Mr. Dimmesdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office” (Hawthorne 161-162). This reputation restricted him from “his genuine impulse to adore the truth” (Hawthorne 163) in order to protect his stature, and this catalyzed “inconceivable ... agony with which this public