The Sins of Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is a study in the effects of sin on hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and transforms Chillingworth into a demon. Hester Prynne's sin was adultery. This sin was taken very seriously by the Puritans and was often punished by death. Hester's punishment consisted of enduring public shame on a gallows for three hours and wearing a scarlet letter "A" on her chest for the rest of her life in the city. Although Hawthorne does not forgive Hester's sin, he considers it less serious than those of Dimmesdale and Chillingworth. Hester's sin was a sin of passion. This sin was openly acknowledged as he wore the "A" on his chest. Hester did not commit the greatest sin in the novel. He did not deliberately intend to commit his sin or hurt others. Hester's sin is that her passions and love were more important to her than the Puritan moral code. This is demonstrated when he tells Dimmesdale: "What we have done has had its own consecration. We felt it so! We told ourselves so!" Hester fully recognized her guilt and proudly showed it to the world. This was evident from the way he displayed the scarlet letter. It was elaborately designed as if to show that Hester was proud. Hester is truly a sinner, adultery is no small matter, even today. On the other hand, her sin brought her not evil, but good. His charity towards the poor, his comfort towards the broken-hearted, his unquestionable presence in difficult times are all direct results of his search for repetition......middle of paper......Works Cited and consult Arvin, Newton. "Critical Excerpts". Main literary characters. New York, 1990. 12-14. Bruckner, Sally. "The Scarlet Letter: Critical Evaluation." Main plots. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Pasadena: Salem, 1996. 5847-5851. Dolan, Neal. "Thematic and structural analysis". The Scarlet Letter: Bloom's Notes. Philadelphia: Chelsea, 1996. 12-21.Durst Johnson, Claudia. Understanding the Scarlet Letter. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1995.McFarland Pennell, Melissa. Nathaniel Hawthorne's student companion. Westport: Greenwood, 1999.Morey, Eileen, ed. Readings on The Scarlet Letter. San Diego: Greenhaven, 1998.Sewall, Richard B. “The Scarlet Letter: Critique.” Novels for students. Ed. Diane Telgen. vol. 1. Detroit: Gale, 2001. 319-27. Wagenknecht, Edward. "Characters of the Scarlet Letter." Readings. San Diego, 1998. 58-72.