"The Effects of Sin" The main thematic emphasis in The Scarlet Letter is on sin, more specifically adultery, and its effects upon the individual in a Puritan society. In a time where people lived under the strict moral code of puritan life, many individuals were condemned to a life of seclusion and looked upon with shame by all righteous members of society. In his novel, Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals how adultery affects the lives of the …showed first 75 words of 881 total…

…showed last 75 words of 881 total…of the individuals involved as they struggle to accept and/or hide their sin. To Hester Prynne, it bore the full weight of her shame until she was able to reconcile herself to God and to the rest of the puritan community and to Arthur Dimmesdale, it burned into his heart the secret of his unbearable guilt and contributed to his eventual demise. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Dover Publications Inc., 1994.