Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, uses sin in his novel as the main theme. Each of the main characters; Hester Pryne, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale, have sinned in the novel. Hester's sin was committing adultery, Dimmesdale's sin was that he covered up the fact that he and Hester had an affair and Chillingworth's sin was marrying a younger woman which then turns into greater sins.
             Hester Pryne, the lead female character in this novel, is a strong and loveable woman. Due to Hester's sin, adultery, she has to wear a scarlet "A" on her chest. Hester does not cover up her sin in the novel, she openly appreciates the letter because she knows that her sin was not done in order to hurt others, but because of her love for Dimmesdale. She wore the letter proudly and it was elaborately designed. Hester's sin was not the worst committed among the other characters in the novel, it is the basis for the novel yet she has recompense for her sin. Hester's character grows stronger throughout the novel because of her sin; unlike Dimmesdale and Chillingworth whose sins cause the downfall of their characters.
             In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale is weak and portrayed as a cowardly character. He is also a selfish character because while Hester is up on the scaffold confessing her adultery, Dimmesdale stands and does not confess himself. He does this in order to save himself, although his sin led to the downfall of his character. Dimmesdale is so caught up in his own guilt that he does not realize that he is hurting himself over it and making himself sick because he will not confess. Although he does try to plead with Hester while she is on the scaffold and he asks her "to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!" it does not work and Dimmesdale still has the guilt cast over him. This affects his life greatly, his sermons have become tormenting and his character became more and more weak. Dimmesdale's effort t...