Salvation Theme In Scarlet Letter

It may seem easier and more beneficial to keep your sins and secrets locked away. However, in the end, the truth will set you free. Nathaniel Hawthorne focuses on this theme throughout his novel, The Scarlet Letter. He portrays this theme by the use of descriptive narrative and symbolism. Multiple characters within this novel have a difficult time confessing their sins. The sins remain a secret and are locked away inside of them. Ultimately, Hawthorne conveys an ambiguous message to the readers that salvation may be earned only by being true to your beliefs and that eventually your sins will eat you alive if you don’t confess them.
Salvation isn’t something easily earned, therefore when a chance comes you should take it. In this case Hester …show more content…
In this case, Dimmesdale has committed adultery along with Hester and while she has been shamed for it he kept it a secret until it was too late. Though he knew it was wrong for him to keep it in, it took him time to build up the courage to confess. Throughout most of the novel Dimmesdale had been consumed by his sin, he no longer enjoyed life, he no longer thought he was the right person to redeem others salvations because he couldn’t even live up to his own sins. He was “gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul....” (94). Hester’s punishment might have been visible to the public, however, since Dimmesdale didn’t confess from the very beginning his sin consumed him and it punished him internally. This evil lived inside of him, taking away his health and giving him an extremely slow death. Eventually Dimmesdale got the courage to confess his sin, “‘may God forgive thee!’ said the minister. ‘Thou, too, hast deeply sinned!”’ (173). His sin consumed him for such a long amount of time he didn’t realize how much of a toll it had on him. Soon after confessing his sin he died, finally being set