Dimmesdale's Authority In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Dimmesdale is a symbol of dishonesty and is a self-centered individual; he knows what he must do in order to make it honorable but lacks the courage and confidence to make himself public. In the Scarlet Letter, Hester tells Dimmesdale that the ship for Europe leaves in four days. He is delighted with the matter of being able to "fulfill his public duties" and give his Election Sermon before leaving. Although from this disdainful act, he worries that the congregation may notice the features found in Pearl’s face may be identical to his

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne shows sins of several different kinds in numerous people, as well as the consequences and remedies of their sins. Arthur Dimmesdale, bares the most brutal effects of his sins. Hester Prynne recognized her sins and accepted them. She wore the letter “A” with such pride and dignity. Dimmesdale on the other hand knew what he did was unacceptable and was unable to confess his sins, because of the fear of not being accepted into society, and also the fear of not being forgiven by God.

Dimmesdale. Ye have both been here before, but i was not with you. Come up, hither once again, and we will stand all three together!” She silently ascended the steps, and stood on the platform, holding little pearl by the hand. The minister felt for the child's other hand and took it “ (Hawthorne 143) From here they are starting to become closer and you notice the closeness that they have bythe way that they all stood together under the moon holding hands. Pearl feels liberated because even though it's night you are still able to see people around. It also implies that they are able to get through the struggles but does not affect them all that much because sooner than later Dimmesdale admits that he is the father of Pearl and Hester kisses Dimmesdale immediately “Partly supported by Hester Prynne, and holding one hand of little Pearl’s the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale turned to dignified the venerable rulers; to the holy ministers, who were his brethren; to the people, whose great heart was thoroughly appalled yet overflowing with tearful sympathy” (Hawthorne 379) It’s able to explain how truthful he was to share out his family and how Pearl accepted to grab his hand in front of all the people. Since she’s been truthful the whole time she was blessed with good fortune after Dimmesdale had died. She met a man who she married and

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is about a young woman named Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery and gave birth to a daughter named Pearl. As a punishment, Hester has to wear a cloth with a scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest that stands for ‘Adulteress’ for all her lifetime. Meanwhile, Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, who has been missing for two years come back and decides to take a revenge on Hester’s lover. Throughout the novel, Chillingworth has discovered that a young minister named Dimmesdale is a Hester’s lover. Dimmesdale is the worst sinner than Chillingworth because Dimmesdale doesn’t have moral, he is a coward that decides to keep his secret, and he doesn’t have responsibility.

Guilt, shame, and penitence are just a few of the emotions that are often associated with a great act of sin. Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly respected minister of a 17th century Puritan community, is true example of this as he was somehow affected by all of these emotions after committing adultery. Due to the seven years of torturous internal struggle that finally resulted in his untimely death, Mr. Dimmesdale is the character who suffered the most throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s ever present guilt and boundless penance cause him an ongoing mental struggle of remorse and his conscience as well as deep physical pain from deprivation and self inflicted wounds. The external influence of the members of

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 the beginning of the novel in "The Market Place," Dimmesdale urges Hester to reveal him as Pearl's father because he could not bring himself to say it himself. Despite the extreme guilt displayed on the scaffold at night with Hester and Pearl, Dimmesdale is not able to bear himself to face his sin in public. Even in "The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter" he does not directly confess, but drops obvious hints that the Puritan could not pay attention to the world around them and only see what they want to see. The highly respected reverend is considered the most sacred in the society and for someone like him to commit such a sin would devastate the people and result in complete turmoil. Not only does the reaction of the society play in the mind of Dimmesdale, he also has personal reasons as well. "She thought of the dim forest, with its little dell of solitude, and love, and anguish, and the mossy tree-trunk, where, sitting hand in hand, they had mingled their sad and passionate talk with the melancholy murmur of the brook. How deeply had they known each other then! And was this the man? She hardly knew him now!" describes how two-faced Dimmesdale

God does not like the sin of adultery. He does not like lying. He does not like hypocrisy. There are two roads that one can choose. In the end, what may seem like the easy way may have far greater consequences than the hard way. Arthur Dimmesdale chose the easy path and learned that the pain of guilt is far greater than the pain of shame.

There is a fine line between hypocrisy and cowardice.  Arthur Dimmesdale, a principal character in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter provides a perfect example of how thin that line can be.   The Scarlet Letter relates a story about sin and the many consequences of not having strength of character.  The true nature of Reverend Dimmesdale's character has been debated since the first publication of the novel.  Dimmesdale is considered by many to be a hypocrite because he cared more about protecting his reputation than he did about protecting the woman he loved.   Others view the Reverend in a more sympathetic light and see him as not a hypocrite, but as a good man

In society one is told to be individualistic, but is shamed for acting out of customary behaviors. Customary behaviors include, routines, societal rules, and organized religion. The individual believes they are responsible for their outcomes; although, various factors play into who is responsible for the results. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mr. Dimmesdale is a figure of hypocrisy which Hawthorne uses to prove that organized religion has consequences, and to corroborate that Dimmesdale is partially responsible for his actions while the townspeople hold a higher power for forcing him into his actions.

At this point in the book, Dimmesdale is well respected by the townspeople, and looked up to by many. He has a superior reputation and worries about ruining it. Dimmesdale urges Hester on the scaffold to tell the officials and the community the name of Pearl’s father. Though he does not have the courage to, since Dimmesdale is Hester’s spiritual mentor and pastor, he is obligated to question Hester about the crime. He knows that if he admits to his sin, he will lose the respect of the townspeople. The speech is two fold, meaning something different to both Hester and the townspeople. Dimmesdale starts contradicting himself, wanting Hester to name the father, but at the same time also not wanting her to: “Even in the first scaffold scene Hawthorne shows forth the deep ambivalence of Dimmesdale’s position: the minister would like to be named and known for what he is, an adulterer” (Twayne 3). Dimmesdale encourages Hester to give up his name when he says, “What can thy science do for him, except tempt him—yea, compel him, as it were—to add hypocrisy to sin?” (Hawthorne 26). According to his ability to keep in his true emotions, Dimmesdale seems unafraid to the community. Dimmesdale is a healthy Reverend, but his confidence slowly deteriorates as his sin consumes

In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale's sin of concealment ultimately leads to his downfall. Dimmesdale suffers immensely from keeping his sin a secret. By hiding his sin he faced extreme guilt that affected his mind and the way he thought. From hiding his sin in his mind, his body also began to bear the burden. Not only did his conscience contribute to his downfall, but because he did not confess, he also had Roger Chillingworth torturing him for many years.

In The Scarlet Letter, the letter A has a symbolic meaning that seemed to change as the

Who created the greatest sin of all? I believe it would be Dimmesdale to be the one. Why, because he came in and ruined somebody else relationship by committing adultery with a married woman and he’s a preacher. For Dimmesdale to be a preacher i'm sure he knew better than to have sex without another woman who he wasn't married to. Dimmesdale should have known even if Hester did come up to approach him then he should have rejected of the top, by him being in one of those leader roles.

This is appropriately named because Dimmesdale reveals his “scarlet letter” and publicly confessing his sin during the second procession of dignitaries. He climbs the scaffold with help of Hester and pearl and confesses the sin, adultery, and that Pearl is his daughter. Upon his revealing he collapses and asks for forgiveness for roger and a kiss from pearl. He then dies in Hester’s arms and the crowd makes a strange murmur sound.