The Scarlet Letter: Dealing With The Guilt Of Sin

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How are we to deal with the guilt of sin in a biblically correct way? The novel The Scarlet Letter focuses on the topic of handling sin. At the beginning of the book, the two main characters have committed a terrible sin: the sin of adultery. They are each left to cope with the guilt, but there is a difference in their lots: one has their sin widely known and the other’s is hidden. Which way is better? Should one make their sins known, or should they keep them hidden from men, to be a secret between God and themselves? This question is discussed in the pages of this book, by multiple characters. Most of them agree with this verse, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” (New International Version, James 5.16a). …show more content…
Her punishment is that she must go around wearing an embroidered, scarlet letter “A”, for adultery, on the breast of her dress for the rest of her life. Her public humiliation begins soon after the birth of her daughter, Pearl, when she has to stand on a scaffold for a period of three hours while the entire Puritan community watches. During this time she spots her husband in the crowd, who, until this moment, she believed to be dead. He speaks to Hester but never reveals his true identity to the town; his one goal is to find her seducer and enact his

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