Essay On Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Sin in The Scarlet Letter “Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.” Saint Catherine of Siena once said. Silence through fear is something that Nathaniel Hawthorne explores in his works, especially the scarlet letter where he shows the contrast of keeping a sin inside, and wearing your sin on your sleeve, “proclaim the truth.” Coping with sin is something that all humans must do because of our inherent flaws; in Hawthorne’s stories he shows through several characters, the ways to cope with sin. “Young Goodman Brown”, another one of Hawthorne's more famous works also explores sin. The main character learns that all people sin and are naturally evil. He refuses to accept this and chooses to not cope with sin at all because he doesn't want to believe that it's there. “With heaven above and Faith below, I will yet stand firm against the Devil” (pg. 8)!

Hester is publicly shamed for her sin and is reminded of it everyday when she looks down to see a red embroidered “A” on her bosom. Hester embraces her sin and doesn’t let her control her life. Hester herself believes that to put sin behind you, one must have faith in God that He will forgive even the most mortal of sins, “‘Heaven would show mercy,’ rejoined Hester, ‘hadst thou but the strength to take advantage of it.’” (17.43-44) By having her sin out in the open Hester was able to reintegrate herself back into society. She was a very gifted sower, “By degrees, nor very slowly, her handiwork became what would now be termed the fashion” (5.78) Because of her talent the townspeople were able to look past her sin and accept her as one of their own. Not only were the townspeople able to look past the “A” she wore, but they now interpreted it as “able” not “adulterer”. Later in book the townspeople become so accepting of Hester’s character that she takes off the “A” and the Puritan people don’t