The Sin Of Adultery In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

It is better to let out a secret sooner rather than later because it can make a person to go insane. The novel The Scarlet letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne was filled with secrets and conflicts. The novel takes place during the 1850s; when people were accused for multiple reasons and trialed. Most of the trials were for adultery. In this novel, one character; Arthur Dimmesdale was accused for adultery. He loved Hester Prynne who also was accused for adultery because she was already married to Roger Chillingworth. Hester and Arthur had to keep their secret from Chillingworth, and the people of Boston because she was in another relationship. Hawthorne uses the symbols of secrecy, and the light and darkness of one's secret that can make a person go insane; revealing the theme that it is best to embrace your sin.
A secret that is kept and embraced, is the best thing for a person. Yet Arthur did not embrace his sin of adultery. He let it sit over many years leaving him a shell of his former self. As the years ticked by, health diminishing, a doctor by the name of Roger Chillingworth came to aid Arthur. …show more content…
During the time that she was with Arthur, she was a married woman. Married to Chillingsworth who was away she was desperate for affection, so she went on and committed adultery putting her in jail. After a few years she was released from jail with an A on her bosom symbolizing her sin for the world to see. “On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread, appeared the letter A”(Hawthorn,50). During the time period that the novel was based on, the letter was supposed to represent negative feelings. But Hester took the time to make the letter beautiful,which shows that Hester had a secret to hide but chose to let out the negative and accept the positive, keeping her away from the