The Scarlet Letter - The Virtue of Truth The virtue of truth and the evil of secret sin are clearly illustrated in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The three main characters in this novel show their honesty and their sins. Hester Prynne shows the essence of truth and pride when she bravely faces the humiliation of the gallows. In chapter 17, when Hester apologizes to Dimmesdale for hiding Chillingworth's identity, she says, “In all other things, I have endeavored to be true! Truth was the only virtue I could maintain, and have maintained, despite all extremities… A lie is never good, even if death threatens on the other side (p. 202)!” It is Hester's pride, which sustains her from the beginning of the novel until the end, when she dies, still sporting the scarlet A on her chest. Hester's sin is the sin that gives the book its title and around which the action of the book takes place. solves. Adultery, prohibited by the Seventh Amendment, was usually punishable by death. A woman in the crowd declared: "At the very least, they should have put the mark of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead... She might cover it (the scarlet letter) with a brooch, or something like a pagan ornament, and so walk the streets braver than ever (p. 53)!” Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale shows the truth with his occupation The people who lived in Boston, Massachusetts admired and respected Dimmesdale because he was a minister of being the father of Pearl, Hester's daughter. However, adultery was not his greatest sin. His greatest sin is hypocrisy. chapter ten talks about concealing his sins, he says: “Maybe that they are silent by the very constitution of their nature. Or, we cannot suppose, however guilty they may be, retaining, however, a zeal for the glory of God and the welfare of man... no evil of the past can be redeemed from a better service (page 137).” As they try to hide his sins, they take control of his conscience and literally confess during his acts of madness. The third main character, Roger Chillingworth, is a rather innocent man at the beginning of this book. He comes to America to reunite with his wife, Hester, but soon discovers that she has committed adultery..