Hester Should Be Forgiven In Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

Hester should be forgiven. Hawthorne states clearly in The Scarlet Letter that one of the lessons to be learned from “The poor minister’s miserable experience” is “Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, and this statement is the very heart of Hawthorne’s demonstration of the value of honesty. “Be true” speaks clearly enough, and Hawthorne takes the idea further by commanding the reader to “show freely” any unkind traits. However, he demands this level of honesty and the act of lying creates inner turmoil which consumes the liar and prevents him or her from moving on to a higher level of spiritual development. Dimmesdale, when read with ‘truth’ in mind, becomes a symbol for spiritual progression as shown by three
features of his character: his position as a minister, his guilty torment, and his inability to ‘move on’ until he’s confessed his guilt.