Nathaniel Hawthorne
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NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE EXIBITS
THE LASTING EFFECT OF SIN
IN THE SCARLET LETTER
Puritan society placed great importance upon a person's reputation. Without an honorable reputation a person is not worthy of respect from others in their society. Characters in this novel go through their lives struggling with themselves trying to cope with the guilt and shame associated with their actions. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, he shows the lasting effect that sin has on Hester and Dimmesdale.
Hester Prynne's guilt is the result of her committing adultery, which has a profound effect on her life. Hester is publicly seen with the scarlet letter when she first emerges out of prison. "It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself ". The spell that is mentioned is the scarlet letter, "so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom". The scarlet letter is what isolates her from everyone else because it symbolizes sin. Hester is in her very own world, a world of her own where her sin effects her life and has completely isolated her from the world...