The Scarlet Letter - The Virtue of TruthThe virtue of truth and the evil of secret sin are clearly illustrated in the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The three main characters in this novel display their own honesty and sins. Hester Prynne exposes the essence of truth and pride when she courageously faces the humiliation of the scaffold. In chapter 17, when Hester apologizes to Dimmesdale for hiding Chillingworth's identity, she says, "In everything else I have endeavored to be true!" Truth was the only virtue I could have possessed, and I held firm, to all ends... A lie is never good, even if death threatens on the other side (p. 202) ! It is Hester's pride that sustains her from the beginning of the novel until the end, when she dies, still wearing the scarlet A on her breast. Hester's sin is the sin that gives the book its title and around which the action of the book resolves. Adultery, prohibited by the Seventh Amendment, was generally punishable by death. A woman in the crowd said: "At the very least, they should have put the mark of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead... She can cover it (the scarlet letter) with a brooch, or some pagan adornment similar, and so walk. the streets are as brave as ever (p. 53)! » Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale shows the truth through his craft. People living in Boston, Massachusetts admired and respected Dimmesdale because he was a minister. One of his sins was his failure to publicly acknowledge that he had committed adultery with Hester and that he was the father of Hester's daughter Pearl. However, adultery was not his greatest sin. His greatest sin is hypocrisy. In chapter ten he speaks of the concealment of one's sins, he says: "It may be that they are kept silent by the very constitution of their nature." Or, may we not suppose, however guilty they may be, yet retaining a zeal for the glory of God and the welfare of man...no evil of the past can be redeemed by better service (p. 137). While trying to hide his sins, they take over his conscience and literally confess during his acts of madness. The third main character, Roger Chillingworth, is a fairly innocent man at the beginning of this book. He comes to America to find his wife, Hester, but soon discovers that she has committed adultery..