Scarlet Letter Sin Quotes

A Sin of Fatal Intent Proverbs 28:13 states, " He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy." Deceitful actions, unholy intentions, hatred, guilt, revenge, and in a word, sin; these are all primary aspects of The Scarlet Letter, a classic novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Yet, the most unmistakable characteristic, which penetratingly echoes through the chapters of The Scarlet Letter and through the mind of the reader, is the calamity which comes with sin and has plagued humanity almost since the beginning of time. Sin is a fact of human nature, and The Scarlet Letter displayed sin not only in depth and in its worst state, but also its deadly effects. In this essay the sins and their consequences of the three main characters, Hester, Dimmsdale, and Chillingsworth will be explored. The first sin was that of Hester. Hester, was the protagonist of this profound tale. She sinned against God in the act of adultery. This sin had numerous side

Dimmsdale's sin was synonymous to Hester's, he committed adultery. Despite this the effects of his sin were different from Hester's, for one primary reason; he, unlike Hester was the holy minister. Consequently, people expected him to be truly righteous, which he was not. It may appear while reading this book that Dimmsdale was repentant; he went about with bowed head clutching his heart, and in the dark of night he tortured himself physically with scourges. Regardless of all of these extremities, on page 383 of The Scarlet Letter Dimmsdale utters, "Of penance, I have had enough! Of penitence, there has been none! Else, I should long ago have thrown off these garments of mock holiness and have shown myself to mankind as they will see me at the judgmentseat." Through this it is clear that according to Dimmsdale he did not repent or have penance, therefore his sin is truly equivalent to