The Scarlet Letter: Hypocrisy Is A Sin The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about the trials and tribulations of Hester Prynne, a woman living in colonial Boston. Found guilty of adultery, Hester's punishment is to wear a visible symbol of her sin: the scarlet letter "A." Through the book, the reader comes to know Hester, the adulteress; Dimmesdale, the holy man Hester had the affair with; and Chillingworth, the estranged husband of Hester who is out for revenge. The Scarlet Letter examines the interaction of these characters and the reaction of these characters to Hester's sin. Although Hester's sin is at first supposed to be adultery, in fact adulter