The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a novel which portrays the message of sin and punishment, through the outcome of an adulterous relationship between Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne portrays the tension between Dimmesdale's guilt and the fact that he cannot confess to his sin. ... Hawthorne does not express a plausible ending to the progression of Dimmesdale's developing emotions, rather, he creates an ending in which Dimmesdale reverses his fundamental principles. ... His reaction, however, is not to palliate his suffering by...

• Word Count: 1174
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate