The Effect of Sin in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne’s most famous novel, focuses on the effect of sin on its main characters, making readers ponder about the overwhelming influence of sin on people’s mind. The two sinners, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, live in the shadow of sin and struggle bitterly to face it, only to find their effort futile. Once a sinner, always a sinner, the narrator seems to tell us in this way. Although the sinners in the novel spare no effort to redeem their sins, whether they are pardoned or not at last, no one could tell. The feeling of the sin, the bearing of the sin, and the acting of redemption compromise the most splendid part of the novel.