Arthur Dimmesdale's Sin In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, proves to be a sinner against man, against God and most importantly against himself because he has committed adultery with Hester Prynne, resulting in an illegitimate child, Pearl. His sinning against himself, for which he ultimately paid the

In his first speech Dimmesdale's purpose is to get Hester Prynne to confess who the father is. This accusatory purpose Dimmesdale conveys is trying to get Hester Prynne to confess but at the same time keep her mouth shut. "I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer" (Hawthorne 57). This quote shows that Dimmesdale asks Hester publicly the Who the father is so the Community does not get suspicious of the authority of Dimmesdale. In Dimmesdale's second speech his purpose changes from accusatory to remorseful. With seven years passing and Dimmesdale harming himself he wants to be free of the guilt of the secret. " It seemed, at this point, as if the minister must leave the remainder of his secret disclosed. But he fought back the bodily weakness- and, still more, the faintness of heart." ( Hawthorne 208). This quote shows that Dimmesdale is weakly fighting back the guilt of his secret and he can not take it anymore. He has had enough of living with the lie so he

In the book The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dimmesdale gets sicker and sicker the longer he holds in his secret sin of Adultery. It takes place in a Puritan society, which was a strict, conservative, and simple group in Boston Massachusetts. The book focuses on the sin of Hester Pryne committing adultery and having a child, Pearl, with a man other than her husband, Chillingworth. Hester gets shamed and laughed at on the scaffold used for public humiliation. The vulnerable and weakening Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale comes closer to confessing to being Pearl’s father throughout the three scaffold scenes. “Sin as sickness” is a major theme in the book that is represented through Reverend Dimmesdale’s internal conflict. The more Dimmesdale

Early in the novel, the reader sees evidence of Dimmesdale's hypocrisy. Although the audience remains unaware of his sin until later on in the novel, Dimmesdale asks Hester on the scaffold to reveal the name of Pearl's father, instead of confessing. As the text reads "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name

The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in Boston during the 1640s where the main religion was Puritanism. Hawthorne published his book during the Romantic period emphasizing individualism and a person’s relationship with God. This book also contains Gothic elements because it shows the psychological effects of being alienated from society and the darker sides of humanity. Throughout the book there are characters that demonstrate hubris. The character that most prominently shows excessive pride is Arthur Dimmesdale.

Although both Hester and Dimmesdale committed the same crime, which was adultery, their scarlet letters are different from one another in many ways. One way they’re different is because Hester’s scarlet letter was an article of clothing. Dimmesdale’s scarlet letter, however is carved into his chest. Since Hester’s is out and into the open for others to see, she is looked down upon. At the time, adultery was a huge sin. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, had to live his life as a coward hiding the truth. He did not tell people of his crime; he kept it to himself. This is another way their scarlet letters are different. The two handled the situations very differently. Hester took the consequences fairly, while Dimmesdale showed no sign of giving in to the townspeople. Since Hester lived a harsh life due to all the attention and hatred she received from others, she grew up to become quite a strong woman. Dimmesdale becomes weaker, even paler, over time. Although the two have their differences, they also had some similarities. Both of them were, in a way, cowards. Yes, Hester took all of the blame while Dimmesdale took none of it, but the two still didn’t want to have the town see the whole situation they were in. hester did not want them to find out about her husband, Chillingworth, or about her true love, Dimmesdale. Of course she took the penalties of committing adultery, however, she does not want the people to know exactly who she committed the crimes with/against. Both

In the Puritan society, the Scarlet Letter represents the Puritan’s view on the "sin of adultery" that Hester has committed in her life. However, Hawthorne shows throughout the novel that the Scarlet Letter evolved to be a potent symbol of Hester’s identity. The scarlet letter "A" again was originate to represents adultery, however it also represents rebellion against the puritan culture. Hester's attachment to the scarlet letter isolates her from the puritan’s society but it allows her to have freedom on her beliefs and actions as quote “She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom” (Hawthorne). Later when she believes her relationship with the town minister, Dimmesdale is pure base on her 'free will’; she separates her 'free will' against the Puritan definition of 'sin'. As a result, it is a symbol of Hester's pride and burden. Because of this, Hester was forced to carry the scarlet letter of which she later accept the letter and the identity that it has placed upon her as quote, “She had wandered, without rule or guidance, into a moral wilderness... Her intellect and heart had their home, as it were, in desert places, where she roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods... The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers—stern and wild ones—and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss” (Hawthorne). Overall, her sin teaches her a lesson while obstructs her at the same

However he is too weak and cowardly to confess, so he thrusts the responsibility to reveal him on Hester. He asks her “to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!...Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin?”(Hawthorne 70) In this quote, Dimmesdale does not only demonstrate the weakness he feels and his fear of confessing, but also his desire to confess. These conflicting emotions only serve to increase his guilt, but he is not yet willing to confess himself. Thus, he is not only imploring Hester to confess for him, but also describing his emotions in the process. He clearly believes that confessing is preferable to living in guilt and that hiding is only making him a hypocrite, especially due to his status in the Puritan community. However, he still does not confess. While Hester at the time is on a platform in front of the town, surrounded by light and the sight of the other Puritans with her secrets exposed, Dimmesdale is not in the spotlight. He still has his secret hidden and is seen as admirable by the people. His refusal to confess could be due

Both characters are put down by their own struggles but naturally learn very different lessons. Dimmesdale slowly but surely begins to understand how severe the damages of his guilt, hiding, and hypocrisy are to his soul. He goes through intense episodes of self harm and abuse as he lives with Chillingworth, the evil physician who acts as a catalyst to strengthening the grief and guilt that shadows poor Dimmesdale. After seven long years of hiding his sin and relationship with Hester from the public, Dimmesdale realizes how absurd his decision to conceal his struggle is. While conversing with Hester in the shadowy forest, free from Puritan judgement, Dimmesdale exclaims, "Else, I should long ago have thrown off these garments of mock holiness, and have shown myself to mankind as they will see me at the judgment-seat. Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!" (Hawthorne 167). Dimmesdale is finally brought to his senses when he reveals his admiration for Hester’s bravery in being accountable for the sin. He realizes that if he could have adopted his sin upon the scaffold as hester does seven years prior, he would be much better off. While Dimmesdale sees Hester embracing her sin, he feels that she has put herself through much

While Hester stands in front of the townspeople, he dramatically pleads with her to “speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!” (Hawthorne, 65). Obviously, Hawthorne designs this to be a thoroughly ironic situation. Not only is it odd that the reverend, of all people, would commit adultery; but it is ironic that he would pressure Hester so heavily to essentially expose him. From this point in the novel on, Dimmesdale is engaged in a constant internal struggle with himself; he can’t bring himself to admit the truth, yet he suffers an intense sense of guilt for staying quiet.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel about guilt and innocence in Boston, Massachusetts during the 1640s. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of the novel, is a beautiful married woman who has committed adultery and had a child while her husband was lost at sea. She is now forced to bear the scarlet letter on her chest to let the public know what sin she has committed. Roger Chillingworth is Hesters lost husband who has returned back from seas to learn that his wife has been unfaithful to him. He has devoted himself to finding who Hesters lover is and seek revenge on him, even if it wreaks him. Arthur Dimmesdale is the town’s reverend and Hesters secret lover. He is in continuous conflict against himself since he is supposed to be

When Hester asks the reason for his lack of confession, he exclaims, “Of penance I have had enough! Of penitence there has been none! Else, I should long ago have thrown off these garments of mock holiness, and have shown myself to mankind as they will see me at the judgement-seat”(159). Though commonly confused, “penance” and “penitence” have substantially different definitions. By saying that he has had enough penance, but not enough penitence, Dimmesdale is privately marinating in his own remorse, but has not worked up the courage to share his guilt with the public.

It’s a Scarlet Life, for me In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, one may observe the theme of a secret sin versus a public sin is prominently shown throughout the novel.. For instance, one of the main characters, Dimmesdale, struggles internally about whether to keep his sin a secret or to divulge it to the public, a conflict that is intensified because of his higher social status as a reverend. Oftentimes, he considers revealing his sin; however, other times his actions seemingly contradict his sayings. In this work of literature, Dimmesdale's ultimate decision contributes to the culmination of the literary work by illustrating the internal arguments, the consequences of his hidden sin, and ultimately exposing the sin to the

In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale is instrumental in developing Nathaniel Hawthorne’s theme that penance while in the shadows is ultimately fruitless. From the start of the novel, it is clear Dimmesdale is intelligent enough to understand that repentance in darkness is worthless. While interrogating Hester Prynne in the market place, Dimmesdale tells her that by revealing who her fellow sinner is, she is saving him from hiding “a guilty heart through life” (Hawthorne 60). Although it seems that Dimmesdale makes this statement because Mr. Wilson has directed him to appeal to Hester, he secretly wants her to reveal his sin to the public. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne portrays Dimmesdale as a weak hearted and cowardly man who is

Guilt is an emotional feeling that can shape and mold a person's perception on his views of life. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in 1630’s Boston. A holy man, Reverend Dimmesdale has committed the sin of adultery, but no one knows except for him and the main character Hester Prynne. Unaware of this crime, the townspeople hold Dimmesdale in high regard and view him as a fatherly figure because he is a Reverend. They learn to respect him as a human being when during a sermon he confesses to having committed a mortal sin, but he does not tell them the exact nature of it. Over time, hidden guilt affects him greatly which results in self-inflicted physical harm in the form of self-flogging, fasting and sleep deprivation. He would also suffer through bouts of mental anguish, which would result in him having conversations with himself.