"Without a theme, a novel is just a story" (Anonymous). Hawthorne portrays many themes in The Scarlet Letter, a novel about the punishment and ignominy of a woman, Hester, in the unforgiving, Puritan world. At the beginning of the book Hester openly bears her sin of adultery on the scaffold and finds her peace with her sin. Dimmesdale, the town's pious minister, is found to be the second participant of Hester's sin. The plot thickens when Hester's revengeful husband, Chillingworth, appears to find Dimmesdale to be the second participant of Hester's sin. Once surmising Dimmesdale's identity he seeks revenge by growing close to Dimmesdale, so he can punish him from close by. Only through confession does Dimmesdale escape from Chillingworth's evil influence and find relief for his guilty heart. Hawthorne uses motif, symbolism, and irony to develop his theme that "confession eases guilt."

There are three motifs that...