The Result of Sin Sin is often followed by punishment, whether it be humiliation or even death. Punishment in the form of humiliation or death is one of the many themes Nathaniel Hawthorne deals with in his novel The Scarlet Letter. Through the characters of Pearl and her mother Hester Prynne, and Hester’s ill-fated lover Dimmesdale, the reader discovers the consequences of sin in the punishments that follow. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester’s …showed first 75 words of 592 total…

…showed last 75 words of 592 total…most evil punishment of them all. Throughout the entire novel The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne has based the justification of sin on one thing: punishment. He has used the letter ‘A’ as a sign of public humiliation and guilt, the dreadful actions of Pearl, and the worst of all: death to punish both Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale for their sins of adultery. These are some of the many lessons to be learned in The Scarlet Letter.