The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, depicts the adversities encountered by Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, as well as their struggles to overcome their sins of adultery. Hawthorne portrays the celestial Dimmesdale as a troubled minister with a troubled conscience who struggles to come to terms with his wrongdoings. Dimmesdale is torn between whether to publicly confess his misdeeds with Hester and let the ruthless Puritans decide his fate, or keep his secret hidden and let the guilt derived from his actions, along with the devil in Roger Chillingworth, destroy him mentally and physically. Being divided between his love for Hester and his Puritan ideals, Dimmesdale's progression toward atonement for his sin of adultery is manifested in the three scaffolding scenes throughout the novel. The first scaffolding scene depicts Hester's public humiliation at her sin and Dimmesdale's lack of courage. and troubled soul. In the first scaffold scene, Dimmesdale acts as Hester's deceptive accuser, leaving her alone on the scaffold for three hours while being ridiculed by the townspeople for an act they both committed . Dimmesdale charges Hester “to speak the name of thy fellow sinner and fellow sufferer.” Be not silent about all mistaken pity and tenderness toward him” (Hawthorne 64). By speaking directly to Hester, Dimmesdale wants Hester to reveal her sin to the people of Boston. Dimmesdale does not want Hester to pity him and take all the blame for their wrongdoings because he does not want to live a sinful life full of hidden sin and guilt. Although Dimmesdale wants Hester to reveal her secret, he is relieved when Hester says, “I will not speak...And my child must seek a heavenly Father; she will never know an earthly medium...... Dimmesdale, a minister with a troubled soul, regrets his actions and atones for his sin, allowing him to finally be free from guilt and suffering. The scaffold, a place of public shame and humiliation, symbolizes Dimmesdale's progress toward repairing his actions and achieving salvation. Dimmesdale goes from being a religious and deceptive minister in the first scaffold scene to a humble and humble individual at the end of the third scaffold scene, freeing himself from the guilt that has caused so much havoc in his life. Dimmesdale's sin, which manifests itself through the three scaffolding scenes, symbolizes the major theme of The Scarlet Letter, which states that hidden sin will ultimately kill an individual if not confessed, and that only way to obtain salvation is to publicly confess one's actions and make atonement with God.