The Greatest Sinner in the Scarlet Letter, Essay Example

In the novel, The Scarlett Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is known as the first female protagonist among American literature.   In addition, there are multiple characteristics to Herter Prynne’s character, such as strong, willful, beautiful, holy, sinful, good and bad.  Furthermore, in the beginning of the novel, Hester is portrayed more as a victim than a heroine; however, during the novel the heroine side is more pronounced and the sins that are committed are illustrate in her character and other characters.  Therefore, in the novel, it is controversial to determine which Scarlett Letter character is the most sinful.  Due to the fact that there are so many sides to Hester Prynne’s character and she is a victim in this novel, the most sinful individual seems to be either Arthur Dimmesdale or Roger Chillingworth.

Although Hester is the main character and is wearing a Scarlett Letter “A” on her dress to symbolize her having a daughter out of wedlock, she is a strong individual and builds a business on her own and raises the child, Pearl, on her own.  (Seabrook)  Arthur Dimmesdale, on the other hand, was a pastor and highly respected by the townspeople.  In fact, everyone trusted him with their spiritual lives.  He watched for years how Hester Prynne was treated and kept it a secret for his own sake.  He therefore, led two lives, one in which he was perceived as a saint and the other, the truth that was inside of him, a sinner.  He was weak for not standing up and doing the right thing.  Instead he was a coward afraid to admit his sin, which is the worst kind of sin.  Hester kept it a secret to not reveal the truth in order to save Arthur Dimmesdale’s character.  She took the blame and heat from everyone and stayed strong.   The only compassion that is given to Arthur is the fact that his character displays remorse through his body deterioration; he began to look worn out.  (Mega essays)

Roger Chillingworth’s character is different than Hester or Dimmesdale.  Chillingworth’s character becomes obsessed with vengeance against Hester and the father of Pearl, Dimmesdale.  In the beginning of the novel, the reader feels for Chillingworth because he comes home from being in captivity by the Indians for over a year to his wife, Hester Prynne, standing on a scaffold due to her adulterous act.  However, Roger Chillingworth chooses to be vengeful instead of forgiving.  In fact, he premeditates his revenge and seeks out to destroy both Hester and Arthur.  Therefore in analyzing the characters in this novel, it is clear that the true sinner is Roger Chillingworth, as he premeditates his actions; whereas, the conception of Pearl was more love and passion and a mistake.

Hester Prynne’s punishment to her sin is to wear a Scarlett Letter A for her lifetime.  The letter at first serves it purpose and allows the town to visually see the sin that Scarlett committed; however, Hester’s character and determination outweigh the letter and shows her courage and strength as she is able to survive and raise her child on her own.  In addition, her strength to not reveal the father of her child also shows her strong feminine quality which could be admired by other women in the town.

Works Cited

Seabrook, A.  Hester Prynne: Sinner, Victim, Object, Winner.  (2008).  Web. Retrieved on November 4, 2012 from: http://www.npr.org/2008/03/02/87805369/hester-prynne-sinner-victim-object-winner.

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