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As Boston’s eldest clergyman, Reverend John Wilson is in many ways the stereotypical Puritan. He has dedicated his life to the study of Scripture and upholding the tenets of righteousness. Highly respected and revered, ruled by tradition and religion, he is a figure of purity and punishment, believing that sin is to be treated severely and disciplined to the full. However, while there is a hardness and immovability in Wilson, there is also a kind and genial spirit. This gentleness, however, is less developed than his more learned gifts, and is even a source of shame for Wilson, as he most likely believes grace to be a weakness. Wilson holds great respect for Dimmesdale, his younger colleague. While his view is plain when it comes to sin, Wilson is willing to be persuaded by Dimmesdale's more merciful approach.
Wilson’s character is a manifestation of religious bondage and the enforcement of social stigma. He aids in creating a society of watchfulness that borders on suffocating. While Wilson remains consistent in his views of sin and penance through the whole of the novel, there exists an interesting conflict that Hawthorne introduces through his character. We see in Wilson the impulse for grace and gentleness, yet we also see this impulse stifled—a true representation of the hardness of heart and self-righteous spirit that define his society. The inclusion of his character—and those who reinforce his views—establishes a world in which guilt and shame are more frightful than any monster, and make confession nearly impossible.
