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Hester Prynne: Who Committed The Bigger Sin?

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Who Committed the Bigger Sin? Is hypocrisy a bigger sin than adultery? Hester Prynne is accused of committing the ultimate sin, adultery, in The Scarlet Letter. Although Hester’s actions are wrong, her sin was judged more strictly than other’s. While Hester has committed an unthinkable deed, hypocrisy is the abysmal wrong doing here. Hester is judged too harshly for her mistake in this novel. “[F]or the remainder of her natural life she is to wear a mark of shame of shame on her bosom” (Hawthorne 59). The townspeople punish her by humiliation. She received almost no sympathy from her fellow puritans. “They should have put the brand of hot iron on her forehead” (Hawthorne 59). This is spoken by another townsperson who agrees she deserves more

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