In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne writes about the consequences of a sinful act in a Puritan community. This sinful act involves three main characters, Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingsworth. As The Scarlet Letter progresses, each character faces their sin differently, and so the sin affects them differently. Shirley Guthrie writes: "There are three types of sin: 1) repentant sin, 2) unrepentant or hidden sin, and 3) mortal sin (7 types: lust, sloth, anger, envy, gluttony , greed and pride). All three can be forgiven by the grace of God, but only by asking it in the Name of Jesus” (p. 105). Hawthorne allows The Scarlet Letter to be a backdrop, illuminating the truth of each character. This truth being that each character is a symbolic representation of a type of sin. Hester becomes a repentant sin, Dimmesdale is unrepentant, and Chillingsworth is a mortal sin. As each character develops, the sin they represent also matures. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay Hester's adulterous affair, which is quickly discovered during her pregnancy, results in her carrying the representation symbolic of her sin, the scarlet A. Hester learns to find forgiveness for her sin although the trials of wearing the A. Hester become a sin of repentance for the reader. Like Hester, the Bible's King David had an adulterous affair, but he became one of God's greatest kings in the Old Testament. This was accomplished by a humble confession of sin for forgiveness. David writes: “So I confessed my sins and told them all to you. I said, “I will tell the Lord about my every sin.” “Then you forgave me and took away my guilt” (Ps.32:5). David shows how open confession of sin can free the sinner from the burden of guilt, but sin always has consequences. David watches his youngest son die, born from an adulterous affair. Hester is forgiven by her repentant behavior, but still finds her daughter an embodiment of her sin. Malcolm Cowley writes: "[Hester's] terror over her strange elven child presents retribution in a new and natural form: her slow, painful purification through repentance is not crowned with perfect happiness, such as decline awaits." of those who have no dark and bitter past to remember" (pp. 634). Hawthorn shows through Hester how repentant sin, although forgiven, is always with us an embodiment of our failure to keep God's perfect law. Dimmesdale is always hidden in the background of The Scarlet Letter, a dark and suffering character Hawthorne does this deliberately to always keep in mind the readers what he truly represents Dimmesdale does not repent of the hidden sin. He is Pearl's father, but his fear of the community prevents him from taking the step that Hester took. Dimmesdale hides his sin and it festers through his guilt Dimmesdale begins to deteriorate. said: “When I tell the wicked that they will die for their sins and do not repent of their sins, they must be punished. Now suppose some faithful people begin to sin and I decide to put stumbling blocks in their sins. paths to make them fall. They deserve to die because of their [unrepentant] sin” (Ezekiel 3:18-20). This passage shows the consequences of unrepentant sin and the greater responsibility that falls on the faithful. Dimmesdale is a biblical leader of the Puritan community and as such he faces punishment 1920