The Effects And Implications Of Sin In — страница 2

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Dimmesdale. Furthermore, Chillingworth?s morals also undergo a deterioration, in that he devotes his life to tormenting Dimmesdale: in effect, sacrificing his fellow man for self-gratification. The change from his initial integrity to his consequent depravity is apparent even to himself, as he asks Hester: ??Dost thou remember me? Was I not…a man thoughtful for others…kind, true, just, and of constant, if not warm affections?…And what am I now?…A fiend!? Because of his perverse obsession with retaliation, Chillingworth abandons his morality, an integral part of his former self. The transgressions of the characters in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, manipulate the characters? lives. Because of her act of adultery, Hester is exiled from Puritan society through her physical

separation and status as an outcast. The guilt resulting from this very same act impels Dimmesdale to act in an extreme manner: inflicting painful punishment on himself and publicly proclaiming and denouncing his actions. Chillingworth?s physical and moral deterioration are the consequences of his own sin–his obsession with vengeance. Thus, sin is a common affliction prevalent among the characters in this novel–and furthermore, among all mankind. It is the manner in which sin affects a person that provides insight into the person?s soul.