In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne writes 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 deals with their sin differently, and therefore the sin affects them differently. Shirley Guthrie writes, "There are three kinds of sin, 1) repentant sin, 2) unrepentant or hidden sin, and 3) mortal sin (7 kinds: lust, sloth, wrath, envy, gluttony, greed, and pride). All three can be forgiven by the grace of God, but only through the request in the Name of Jesus” (pp. 105). symbolic 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 he represents also matures. Why should violent video games not be banned"? Get an original essay Hester's adulterous affair, which is quickly discovered during her pregnancy, culminates in her wearing the symbolic representation of her sin, the scarlet A. Hester learns to find the forgiveness of his sin despite the evidence of wearing the A. Hester becomes a sin of repentance for the reader. Like Hester, King David of the Bible had an adulterous affair, yet he became one of God's greatest kings in the Old Testament. This was achieved through humble confession of sin for forgiveness. David writes, "So I confessed my sins and told you all of them. I said, 'I will tell the Lord every one of my sins.' Then you forgave me and took away my guilt” (Ps 32:5). David shows how the open confession of sin can free the sinner from the burden of guilt, but sin always has consequences young, born of the adulterous relationship. Hester is forgiven by her repentant behavior, but still finds her daughter the embodiment of her sin. Malcolm Cowley writes: “[Hester's] terror regarding her strange elven child presents punishment in one form new and natural: its slow and painful purification through repentance is not crowned with perfect happiness, as awaits the decline of those who have no dark and bitter past to remember" (pp.634). Hawthorn shows through Hester how sin repentant, though forgiven, may he always be with us the embodiment of our failure to live by God's perfect law. Dimmesdale is always hidden in the background of The Scarlet Letter, a dark suffering character. Hawthorne does this on purpose to always keep readers in mind of what he truly represents. Dimmesdale does not repent of his 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 this is compounded by his guilt. Dimmesdale begins to deteriorate. The Bible says, “When I tell wicked people that they will die because of their sins, and do not [repent] of their sinful ways, they must be punished. Now suppose faithful people begin to sin, and I decide to lay stones of stumbling blocks in their lives." paths to make them fall. They deserve to die because of their [unrepentant] sin" (Ez 3,18-20). This passage shows the consequences of unrepentant sin and the greater responsibility entrusted to the faithful. Dimmesdale is a biblical leader in the Puritan community and, as such, faces harsher punishment for his hidden sin. Henry James writes: "It is on [Dimmesdale] 1920