Part one of term paper
Hawthorne's novel describes the life of an adulteress, Hester Prynne, who is shunned by her judgmental community. She gave birth to her daughter Pearl out of wedlock, while her “partner of iniquity,”(Hawthorne 59) a minister named Arthur Dimmesdale, never revealed his “black secret” of their affair. Although Hester su ...

Part two of term paper
... Hester had no way to conceal her sin. Dimmesdale watched Hester and Pearl take all the blame and ridicule for the lover’s sins, and he avoided his family in order to preserve his image. Although Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale had numerous opportunities to confess the truth of his sin to his church, he chose to hold the black secret inside himself. On the other hand, Hester Prynne could not hide the truth because Pearl and the scarlet letter “A” were open confessions of her sin. Hest ...