Do you remember when the top headlines were all about former President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinski because of the sin they had committed? Throughout history, people have committed all types of sins, and whether they are major or minor, they have been punished in some way. Sophocles once wrote, â€œThink: all men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil: The only crime is pride.â€ The puritans tried to create a utopian society. However, as shown in Nathaniel Hawthorneâ€™s The Scarlet Letter, sin is expected, and their perfect society was not logical. As Nathaniel Hawthorne states in his novel, "In the view of Infinite Purity, we are sinners all alike." There were three characters in The Scarlet Letter who had something in common with the former President. They all had pride in the wrongdoing they committed, and never fully admitted that what they had done was immoral.
Hester Prynne, the main character in The Scarlet Letter, had pride in her sin . By committing adultery, she had done the unspeakable to her community. Her punishment was wearing a scarlet letter on her chest at all time, but the scarlet letter became a symbol for what she had overcome. When Hester went out in public, she was given scornful glances and people conversed about her. She used her talents to turn the â€œAâ€ from meaning adulterous to able. She wore the scarlet letter with pride on her bosom to show that she was unashamed of what she had done, and who she had become. Pearl was mocked because of what her mother did, but she was also taught that sin is something that you shouldnâ€™t be ashamed of. Dimmesdale was distressed by the presence of Hester and the reminder of his sin. Chillingworth was forced to hide his identity, and becomes angered by her actions. In being proud she never thought about how it would affect others.