Guilt And Sin In The Scarlet Letter

Guilt and sin is believed to be lurking in everyone. People who harbor guilt and sin tend to be different than others. Today’s society, people who foster guilt and sin tend to have it kept with them throughout their lives depending on the severity of it. Majority of people today who harbor guilt and sin go on with their lives without any punishment. This was not always the case since in Puritan societies, someone who commits a sin is considered a bad person and are punished for their sins. Those who are punished in Puritan societies go on their lives fostering guilt and sin inside of them. Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne are two major characters that exemplify these characteristics. Both characters share the same crime that they decided to commit together, but the crime would be considered less severe today. Dimmesdale and Hester are suffering from the consequences of their crime. In The …show more content…
Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne are characters that show the effects of guilt and sin to the reader. Dimmesdale gives powerful sermons that are very influential but have a deeper meaning that is subliminal to the Puritans. He conceals his guilt and sin by not directly stating what he has done and secretly harbors a Scarlet letter “A”. Hester harbors that guilt and sin through her Scarlet letter and also her child. Her actions in the beginning show that she concealed the name of her lover to protect him but it was revealed at the end. Hester’s choices show that she affected the characterisation of other characters like Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale are both buried in separated graves, each with the an “A” on it to show their crime. They still kept the guilt and sin even after death. In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne expresses the thematic message that guilt and sin is lurking in everyone through the use of