Rappaccini was prideful in the creation of his daughter and at the same time the creation of a new flower. He took pride of his plant experimentation and in trying to create the perfect Garden of Eden for his daughter. When Hawthorne wrote these stories he showed that the pride and coldness of these characters would leave readers outraged by their thoughtless actions and effects it imposed on their situations.
Sin frequently changes a character and affects his/her thoughts, feelings, and perceptions. In "The Scarlet Letter," the sin of adultery has had an enormous effect on two main characters in the book, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmsdale. The sin has a positive affect on Hester, enabling her to gain insight into the personalities of others, and providing her with a daughter who becomes her life while this same sin has had a negative affect on Arthur, causing him to become guilt-ridden, eventually leading to his unnecessary death (Hull). Hester Pryness, a young, tall, and beautiful woman of the Boston community does not believe that her sin is actually a crime (Eldritch Press). Living in a Puritan community, Hester is shunned for her actions, and she was forced to be humiliated in front of the town while standing on the scaffold with her daughter, Pearl. Hester, who has grown up in Europe, does not see eye to eye with the Puritans; they are angered by her beauty, and feel that her punishment is not sufficient for the nature of the crime. Hester does not see the severity in her sin as strongly as the townspeople do, and in fact feels that it is justified. She believes that the sin has a consecration of its own (Hull). Hawthorne shows us that Hester grows strong from her punishment, and has learned to live and learn from what she did as well. The scarlet was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Hester has lived a strict puritan society, where is she punished for her sin, and must learn to live the lifestyle that they do.