How sin cause characters to act differently in the Scarlet Letter

Sin is very difficult thing to comprehend with many gray areas as to what a sin is and if it can be repented for. However, when one commits what they or what other people force them to believe is a grave sin the after effects of the punishment can drastically change a person's physical or mental being like in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. The three main characters, Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, all commit grave sins. However, Hester is the only one publicly punished for hers, while Rev. Dimmesdale is punished through his own inner conflict caus…