Hester has committed adultery with Dimmesdale, shaming the entire town of Boston. They looked down on her and always make comments whenever she walked by. She was put through public humiliation while standing on the scaffold. “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A…it was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony.”(Hawthorne47). Hester’s letter A was supposed to be the symbol of her sin. Hester created the letter to be of magnificent beauty, which was in contrast to what the townspeople were used to. Hester was a bold woman i

n spite of her situation. Hester’s sin has not been forgotten and also not forgiven, but the letter was given a new name because of her strength in dealing with her sin. The new interpretation of the letter did not last, because Hester’s sin was considered to be a violation of the townspeople’s way of life and belief in God.

Dimmesdale was a sick man and was constantly seen with his hand over his heart. Dimmesdale was Hester’s partner in crime. He kept the secret of his sin to himself and never acknowledged Hester and Pearl. “A strange sad man is he, with his hand always over his heart.”(Hawthorne210). The letter A that was gnawing at his chest tortured Dimmesdale. “Solely to the disease in his own eye and heart, that the minister, looking upward to the zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter,¾the letter A…but with no such shape as his guilty imagination gave it…another‘s guilt might have seen another symbol in it.”(Hawthorne140). He was always scared that someone would figure him out because of his lie. “The minister well knew¾subtle, but remorseful hypocrite that he was!…had gained only one other sin, and a self-acknowledged shame.”(Hawthorne130). His hypocritical ways did not show through to his congregation. They saw hi

Some topics in this essay:
Hester Pearl, Dimmesdale Hester, Scarlet Letter, Pearl Hester’s, Chillingworth Hester’s, Hester Dimmesdale, Dimmesdale Hester’s, God Dimmesdale, , hester dimmesdale, chillingworth’s sin, symbol sin, committed adultery, hester’s sin, sin hester, chillingworth’s sin worst, sin worst, standing scaffold,