The biggest question asked in the novel The Scarlet Letter, who commits the greatest sin-Hester, Dimmesdale, or Chillingworth? Is it the woman who let herself get swept away by the emotional grip of romance? Is it the man who takes advantage of a woman he was not betrothed to? Or is it the man who was pursued by evil to destroy something that could have been? Taking advantage of someone who is not yours is the worst sin a person can do to someone. So in my case, I choose Dimmesdale to expose. Dimmesdale is a well-known man around his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts. He is the pastor that everyone in the town looks up to so highly. So what if the town found out of his sin? While Hester appears on the scaffold, Dimmesdale asks her, “ If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!” He asks of her to reveal the father, but both know the truth. Dimmesdale is too much of a coward to admit to his sin. …show more content…
He stands upon the wooden structure, and begins screaming, “It is done! The whole town will awake, and hurry forth, and find me here!” He is so sure that everyone in the town will come to him in his time of need, but no one wakes from their cottages. Soon coming from the distance, he sees Hester and Pearl. Both stare at Dimmesdale, amazed at what he is doing. Dimmesdale soon says, “Come up hither, Hester, thou and little Pearl! Ye have both been here before, but I was not with you. Come up hither once again, and we will stand all three together!” Dimmesdale’s problem is when no one is around, he tries to be close to Hester and Pearl. Pearl would ask Dimmesdale to stand with them like this in front of the town, and he would say no. He feels guilty for his sin, but is a coward for not admitting what he has