In the New Testament it states that 'the wages of sin is death.' Though the penalty of sin in The Scarlet Letter is not a termination of life, the evil of isolation can be a physically, morally, and socially tortuous event in Puritan society. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, are both victims of the cruel isolation from Puritan society on the basis of their sins. Hester wears her sin …showed first 75 words of 665 total…

…showed last 75 words of 665 total…God's judgment.         The evil of isolation of Puritan society robs Hester and Dimmesdale of their humanity, leaving them as stone monuments of shame. The isolation of Puritan society is a result of their belief that 'the wages of sin is death.' Only in death do Hester and Dimmesdale escape the anguish that arises from isolation. However, the infancy remains as their 'only monument' after death. The destructive nature of shame is a powerful weapon.