There are many characters in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, who suffer from sinning against the Puritan society. The characters live and deal with the effects of sin in different ways. Hester Prynne, one of the three main characters in the novel, commits adultery and becomes scrutinized by the town. Dimmesdale, the sanctified priest of the town, is the father of Hester's child, Pearl, and cannot forgive himself for being an inadequate role model towards the Puritan people. Although both characters have sinned against Puritan society, Hester's husband, Chillingworth, sins the greatest of them all. Chillingworth commits a sin that disregards all morality by knowingly and deliberately seeking revenge.

Chillingworth's focus on revenge is revealed from the beginning of the novel when he recognizes Hester Prynne's sin and immediately conceals his identity in order to seek vengeance on Hester's lover. During Hester Prynne's scaffold scene, Chillingworth comes...