Sin In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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By utilizing Hester’s ability to recognize sin in other people, Nathaniel Hawthorne exposes the hypocrisy found in Puritan society. After Hester is released from prison, she is publicly regarded as the living embodiment of sin and is outcasted from the rest of her community. Hester essentially serves as a cautionary tale for the consequences of violating Puritan law. Despite the fact that the scarlet letter characterizes her as the personification of immorality, she could not help but believe “that the scarlet letter had endowed her with a new sense … it gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the sin in other hearts” (95-96). Hester’s ability to look into the hearts of sinners provides her with a “momentary relief, as if half her agony were shared”
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