Do you ever think sinning has a more severe punishment in the seventeenth century then it does today? In the seventeenth century there are bigger consequences for sins then there is today, such as going to prison or getting beheaded. One of the most major crimes was adultery, if you commit adultery you will be sentenced a crude punishment. In Nathan Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlett Letter, there are many examples of how sin can impact someone’s life. Characters such as Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth play an important role when dealing with how sin can impact one’s life.

Hester Prynne commits adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale which creates a huge impact on her life. Hester is sad and ashamed of herself when she is forced to “[Go] towards the place appointed for her punishment” and stand there for three hours while people mock her there and everywhere else for the rest of her life (Hawthorne 51). Since Hester is feeling bad for committing her sin, she tries to become a better person by being “kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick” so people will think she is a nice and caring person again (Hawthorne142). Because of committing her sin, Hester is forced to wear an “ignominious letter on her breast” so that she could feel the pain and shame of what she did for the rest of her life (Hawthorne 52). As a result of her sin, Hester tries to become a better person and the A ables her to do better even though she is forced to face her sin with the letter on her bosom.

Dimmesdale’s sin was committing adultery with Hester Prynne; because he kept it a secret he found a lot of guilt in himself. The author demonstrates Dimmesdale’s guilt when he describes a “bloody scourge” that Dimmesdale uses to torture himself (Hawthorne 126). Dimmesdale feels that he needs to clear the guilt from him so he decides to “stand on the scaffold” and think that people are mocking him for his sin (Hawthorne 130). Dimmesdale’s guilt inside him started to make him think he is evil and he says “some very wicked words” to children and says crude things to other towns people (Hawthorne 192). Dimmesdale’s sin causes him to find a lot of guilt in himself and feels that he needs to torture him to relieve it.

Roger Chillingworth’s sin is wanting to get revenge on Dimmesdale for committing adultery with Hester Prynne. Roger Chillingoworth’s revenge starts to make him turn evil and the towns people believe that he is “Transforming himself into a devil” (Hawthorne 148). When Roger Chillingworth say “Not the less, he shall be mine!” he is stating that he will stop at nothing until he gets his revenge on Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 69). Roger Chillingworth feels that he has done nothing wrong to Dimmesdale and thinks that he should be punished by having “[He] hurled from his pulpit into a dungeon” so that he could have his revenge (Hawthorne 149). The result of Chillingworth’s sin led people to think he was turning into the devil; he also developed an evil habit.

In conclusion, the results of these characters sins create a profound impact on their lives and changed them in many ways. Because of Hester’s sin, it ables her to become a better person even though there is symbols of her sin around her, she has to learn to face them. Dimmesdale’s sin cause him to find a lot of guilt in himself, he felt that he needed to torture himself to relieve it. Chillingworth’s sin makes him turn evil and he starts to get the characteristics of the devil. Because of the characters sins, it affected their lives in a good way and in a bad way.

Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlett Letter. Ohio: Penguin Group, 1962. Print.