The Scarlet Letter: Sin Affects In the novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne focuses on Hester Prynne’s sin. Hester Prynne commits adultery with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and bares a child named Pearl. Hester is judged guilty by the townspeople and is forced to wear a letter A on her chest. She does not tell the town that Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. Hester suffers persecution for her sin and is shunned by the townspeople. Her punishment caused a dramatic change in her personality. She became more kind and charitable by helping the poor and the sick. Sin is the focal point of the novel and affects the lives of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingw