The Seven Deadly Sins of The Scarlet Letter

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Recommended: Influence of Puritan

Sin is something that received a lot of focus in the Puritan community; it determines who was sent to hell in the afterlife and who would ascend to heaven. In the Puritan’s time, even the smallest use of one of the seven deadly sins would repel them away from the peaceful afterlife of heaven. The book The Scarlet Letter is based on the focus of sin in a Puritan setting. As a result from Hester’s revealed sin, there are other characters in the book that committed sins as a result of hers. Many people may think that Hester is the main source of sin throughout The Scarlet Letter, but Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Pearl are equally involved with Wrath, Lust, and Wrath again , of the seven deadly sins, respectively. In this book, the character Chillingworth represents the sin of Wrath. Throughout the book, Chillingworth is constantly doing all he can to find Hester’s lover and seek his revenge. His anger motivates him to do everything to bring his Wrath down upon the father of Pearl. In this way, Chillingworth represents the sin of Wrath. Next, Pearl represents the sin of Lust by being the result of Lust. Every scene she appears in shows Lust by her being sadistic, demonic, and not puritan by any means which can be viewed as punishment to Hester for committing adultery, which was widely seen in the Puritan community as something one should never do. Even though Hester technically committs the sin, we don’t experience it in the story; rather it is obviously referred to and is the main focus. Pearl represents the sin of Lust by being the product rather than offender. Lastly, Dimmesdale represents the sin of Wrath. While it is the same sin as Chillingworth, Dimmesdale’s actions varied drastically from Chillingworth by Dimmesdale foc...

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...sing pain to himself and punishing himself to cure his conscience, and he finally kills himself as a result of this.
While many people may think that Hester is the main source of sin throughout The Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, and Pearl are equally portray sin as Wrath, Lust, and Wrath again respectively. The Scarlet Letter demonstrates that everyone will sin at some point in their life, whether that is directly, or being the result of a sin. Some even believe in harming themselves, which can be viewed as sinful, in order for punishment of another sin. In conclusion, Hester is ridiculed for her sin, and it is obvious that she is guilty of at least one of the seven deadly sins. However, as a result of her sin, three others in this book commit sins. Although their sins are not as apparent in the book, they are all just as guilty as Hester in doing so.

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