The Scarlet Letter was Nathaniel Hawthorne's greatest literary masterpiece. Because of his Puritan heritage, he is able to tell the story of the effects of an adulterous affair on a small Puritan community like no one else could. Hawthorne clearly used this story to teach several moral lessons. Throughout this book he spends much of his time concentrating on how sin affects the life of his characters. Each of his characters' lives are shaped by how they confront their sins.

Chillingworth is the embodiment of how sins can shape a person. He committed two major sins. The first occurs before the book even begins when he marries Hester although he knows that she does not return his love. Chillingworth acknowledges that it was wrong for him to marry her and because of this, he is not mad at Hester for her infidelity. He says to Hester in the jail cell, "'Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy bu

A large number . . . affirmed that Roger Chillingworth's aspect had undergone a remarkable change while he had dwelt in town, and especially since his abode with Mr. Dimmesdale. At first, his expression had been calm, meditative, scholar-like. Now, there was something ugly and evil in his face, which they had not previously noticed, and which grew still the more obvious to sight the oftener they looked upon him (117).

Hawthorne tells us that Hester's sin is minute compared with what Chillingworth has done. Still, Hester's one moment of passion will follow her for the rest of her life. However, out of all of Hawthorne's characters, Hester is best able to handle the aftermath of her sin. There are two direct effects of Hester's sin. The first is Pearl. Pearl serves as a constant reminder of her sin and is looked down on by members of the community simply because she was born out of wedlock. It pains Hester to see her daughter suffer for her s

Some common words found in the essay are:
Nathaniel Hawthorne's, Eventually Hester, Pearl Pearl, Roger Chillingworth's, Chillingworth Hester's, Dimmesdale Chillingworth, scarlet letter, hester's sin, Scarlet Letter, effects sin,
Approximate Word count = 638
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)