Hester's sin: adultery. Dimmesdale's sin: adultery, but more significantly, not confessing to it and letting Hester bear the brunt of it alone. Chillingsworth's sin: pride-he couldn't let go of needing to know who his wife had been with. This pride morphs into extreme manipulation and cruelty.
Hester faces her guilt, lives her life, and turns her situation into being productive and helping others. Dimmesdale is tormented by guilt, finding non-redemptive methods of purging his guilt, including self-mutilation. Eventually, his guilt kills him.
The broader effect of sin is represented differently depending on how the person deals with it. As we see with Dimmesdale, not facing up to it, being open about his weakness, kills him. Hester ends up better off; she faces initial hardships but works hard and lives a good life, in the end. Chillingsworth's obsession takes over his entire life; once fulfilled, he dies.
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