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Sin is the main theme in The Scarlet Letter. All of the characters in the book are somehow affected by the sin of adultery. The three main characters are the most widely affected, and their whole lives are molded by the way they deal with the sin. The sin surrounds, encloses, and strangles them. There is no escaping from its harsh consequences. For Chillingworth, the terrible wrongdoing molds his whole personality in its likeness. For …

…in a cloud of distrust, malice, and degradation. Hawthorne, throughout the novel, tries to show his audience that sin has always been and will always be a part of human life and literature. As long as there is sin, people will react to it differently; some will hide it, some will embrace it, some will rot from it. Nonetheless, no matter how the sin is handled or dealt with, it will always leave its mark.