Scarlet Letter-Sin and Guilt

Hester Prynne’s punishment was a short period in jail, three hours of public humiliation on the scaffold, and the requirement of wearing a scarlet letter “A” on her chest for the rest of her life, serving as "a living sermon against sin” (Hawthorne 69). After confessing her sin and accepting the punishment, Hester was able to move on with life. She was able to bring up a strong and confident daughter. She was a talented seamstress and a devoted nurse with “so much power to do and

On the contrary, Dimmesdale has a secret, burning, inner sin that serves as such a great burden of guilt that it weakens him till his death. They both suffer, but from separate things, Hester from penitence and Dimmesdale from penance. In taking a step back and analyzing the novel as a whole, the simple question may pop into ones head of Did everyone deserve what they ended with? My personal thought is yes. Dimmesdale was punished for not confessing sooner and living his life behind a lie, but was able to die peacefully and at amends with God. Hester had already served her punishment and helped others in need willingly for the rest of her days. Chillingsworth, who dies in the end righteously, deserves to die a painful death, as he was the only one who purposefully sinned, to hurt another person. Finally, “Pearl’s errand as a messenger of anguish was all fulfilled” (251) towards her mother, so she was wrought to get happily married, and enjoy life.

adultery and fails to claim Pearl as his daughter for seven years. His punishment is guilt and self-condemnation, increased by the torture by Roger Chillingsworth; Hester’s undisclosed husband and the town’s physician. “Happy are you, Hester,” says Dimmesdale, “that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!” (188). As his shame and inner guilt increases, he suffers total decline, both mentally and physically. By this he underwent self-torture including fasting, self-flogging, and all-night vigils. “…his cheek was paler and thinner, and his voice more tremulous than before- when it had now become a constant habit, rather than a casual gesture, to press his hand over his heart” (118). When he publicly confesses his adultery and s

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