What Is The Theme Of The Sin In The Scarlet Letter

Everyone seems to always enjoy novels about fallen heros and rising above your struggles. For any character- such as Ralph and Jack in Lord of the Flies, or Macbeth in the self-titled play- sin plays such a strong role in the fall of the great leaders and their resurrection. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s timeless novel, The Scarlet Letter, the theme is no different for the three main characters, Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne and Chillingworth. For the three main characters, sin has changed their original roles in society from minister, housewife and doctor, into the new roles of sinner, whore and vengeful sadist. Although these new roles are not all advertised to the community of Boston, they become very evident to the reader throughout the novel. During the journey one takes though this storyline. it becomes clear that the consequences the characters face for their sins rely on how they approach their indecency. Hester Prynne allows herself to embrace the sin and let it be apart of her life, which leads the townspeople to change their perspective of her. Dimmesdale carries lots of guilt with his sin, leading himself into self harm and keeping his sin to himself, which the townspeople see as pitiful. Finally, Chillingworth keeps his sin private, leading the townspeople to embrace

Throughout the readers journey in The Scarlet Letter, one learns that sin comes in many ways and forms. Sin will always be apart of a humans daily life, and different people will have different responses and tactics to deal with them. Some people may choose to embrace it, like Hester did, some may choose to hide it like Dimmesdale, and others may choose to rot from it, like Chillingworth. No matter how one deals with sin, it will always leave it’s mark as a reminder of the past. After reading The Scarlet Letter, one of the main symbols one will see for sin is the scarlet