Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

There are many themes present throughout this novel but only one is truly visible in every chapter within the book. The one theme that sticks out, is sin. Sin is a huge part in puritan society back in this time. If a huge sin was committed, a public punishment must have taken place because of their beliefs. They had symbols for specific sinners, such as Hester. Hester has a scarlet letter A on her breast, which implies that she had committed adultery. Sin was the most important theme because it is a main key in every chapter. In the first few chapters we learn about the Puritan society as a whole and how their beliefs are applied to their lives. Hester is introduced along with her baby, Pearl. We learn the Hester has committed adultery

Dimmesdale still hasn't revealed himself as a true sinner just yet. Chillingworth has also stated that he will seek revenge on Hester's lover, which is Dimmesdale, but this is a sin. He is stating that he will pretty much kill Hester's lover. He s kind of following Hester around and she becomes uncomfortable. "Yea, woman, thou sayest truly!" cried old Roger Chillingworth, letting the lurid fire of his heart blaze out before her eyes. "Better had he died at once! Never did mortal suffer what this man has suffered. And all, all, in the sight of his worst enemy! He has been conscious of me. He has felt an influence dwelling always upon him like a curse. presence!—the closest propinquity of the man whom he had most vilely wronged! —and who had grown to exist only by this perpetual poison of the direst revenge! Yea, indeed!—he did not err!—there was a fiend at his elbow! A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial torment!" (Chillingworth Ch 14 line 18) Pearl is also affected because she is trying to be in the sunlight but it runs away from her. Sin in the last few chapters is kind of fading away and isn't addressed to much. It is just telling us how Dimmesdale and Hester aren't being affected by sin. That is, until Dimmesdale’s ignominy, to which he reproaches the scaffold and is grovelled after his confession. The society didn't know how