Dimmesdale's Silence Essay

Even though Hester’s sin is the one the book is titled after and centered around, it is not nearly the worst sin committed. Hester learns from her sin, and grows strong, a direct result of her punishment. 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... “ Hester also deceived Dimmesdale, also committing the sin of deception. She swore to Chillingworth that she would keep their marriage a secret. She even withheld this from Dimmesdale, whom she truly loved. Hester finally insisted on telling Dimmesdale and clearing her conscience. In this passage, you can see how he grows angry at Hester: “O Hester Prynne, thou little, little knowest all the horror of this thing! And the shame!--the indelicacy!--the horrible ugliness of this exposure of a sick and guilty heart to the very eye that would gloat over it! Woman, woman, thou art accountable for this! I cannot forgive thee!”  Dimmesdale does forgive Hester. She has done

At first Hester, agrees to Chillingworth’s terms to keep his real identity a secret. This in return hurt Dimmesdale, her secret lover. She does not stand up to Chillingworth out of fear of the chain effect of damage it would cause. Hester says, “I will keep thy secret, as I have his”, which in essence shows her weakness towards a male. Yet, at the end of the book, she recognizes that she must “do what might be in her power for the rescue of the victim on whom [Chillingworth] had so evidently set his gripe”. She comes to the conclusion that hiding Chillingworth’s secret does not help Dimmesdale like she hopes, but in fact, hurts him further. The fact that she realizes this, though, displays her to be an devoted and loyal person. These qualities display many things a female, main character, in those times, did not have much opportunity to play, especially in the role of which Hester plays it.

In the novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth face the burden of making paramount decisions. Each character chooses to make bold choices with substantial effects which determine how the story plays out. First, Hester chooses to not expose Pearl’s father. Second, Dimmesdale refrains from revealing himself. Lastly, Chillingworth chooses to hide his true identity as Hester’s husband. The end results of the antecedent decisions influence the shape and structure of the novel.

In his essay “On the Scarlet Letter,” D.H. Lawrence criticizes Hester’s immoral behavior for her adulterous actions. Lawrence views her as a shameful member of Puritan society and centers his argument on her sin and its effects on the story’s plot. D.H. Lawrence’s use of different literary techniques strengthens his claim that Hester is not the heroine through his sarcastic tone, abrupt syntax, and biblical allusions.

Throughout the novel Hester is dehumanized, ridiculed and shamed for her sin and put on a pedestal. Mr. Dimmesdale, a young clergyman who came from Europe's finest University, saw it as his duty to confess the man she slept with she refused because in fact Mr. Dimmesdale was the man she slept and bore a child with (Hawthorne, 264). While her shaming is still taking place Hester’s husband emerges from the forest and see’s his wife put to shame for dishonoring him through adultery they make eye contact but never say a word (Hawthorne, 63). The husband poses as a doctor and goes to see Hester in the prison and uses the name of Roger Chillingworth he continues to use that name throughout the book (Hawthorne,

In this passage fits into the novel of adding to the plot line and character development due to the fact it plays on the theme of blame. Dimmesdale is really trying to get it through Hester’s head that he wants the blame where it belongs. He believes the blame need to be on him. However, she for some reason she refuses to place it on him. You can’t help but just wonder why? Why in the world would she let it get to this where it doesn’t matter if the right person shall get blamed? Is there some sort of reason why she wants to protect him? Is she trying to prove a point? Is it worth it when you are probably the most hated in community from

Dimmesdale was able to forgive Hester, but Chillingworth was not as understanding towards Hester’s problem, thus he had a lesser chance of winning her love back. Both Hester and Dimmesdale admitted that they sinned, but Chillingworth would never admit it.

He realized this and decides to punish both Hester and Dimmesdale by tormenting Dimmesdale to a point where he kills him. He then regrets marrying Hester and makes her swear not to reveal his identity as her husband, because he wanted to avoid the humiliation of being a part of this scandal. “...Better had he died at once! Never did mortal suffer what this man has suffered…..” In this part of the book, Chillingworth is explaining to Hester how miserable he is making Dimmesdale.

Some might say the Hester should have knew better than to have an affair or that Chillingworth should not have let Hester go alone on the boat, but Dimmesdale knew that chillingworth was coming on the next boat and that Hester was married. He is the minister so he knew that she had a husband because he talks to everyone. He is supposed to be the one who everyone in the town looks up to and by him and Hester affair was a sin and against their religion. Dimmesdale hides his sin in front of the town but when he is alone he acknowledges it. Dimmesdale never told the townspeople till the end of the

What can thy silence do for him except it tempt him-yea, compel him as it were to add hypocrisy to sin?” is an extremely ironic quote. Dimmesdale is being a complete hypocrite in stating this. He talks about how you shouldn 't hide from your sin or hide guilt but that is exactly what he is doing. He is to afraid to tell anyone about what he did and constantly hurts himself because of this. Hester protects him because she wouldn 't accomplish anything by telling. She should protect him because of the fact that she wouldn 't gain anything my telling on him. Dimmesdale would just end up being hung by the community. Her adultery can 't be justified no matter what. She clearly committed it and easily could have avoided it. It still would make a difference if she didn 't love Dimmesdale because than should probably wouldn 't have committed adultery with him. Even if she did choose to commit adultery with him, the lack of love she feels would allow her to easily tell on him.

The setting of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet letter” is crucial to the understanding of the event that takes place in the story. The setting of the story is in Salem, Massachusetts during the Puritan era. During the Puritan era, adultery was taken as a very serious sin, and this is what Hester and Dimmesdale committ with each other. Because of the sin, their lives change, Hester has to walk around in public with a Scarlet Letter “A” which stands for adultery, and she is constantly being tortured and is thought of as less than a person. Dimmesdale walks around with his sin kept as secret, because he never admits his sin, his mental state is changing, and the sin degrades his well-being. Chillingworth

There is a large debate in the religious aspects of The Scarlet Letter, explaining how Hester and Dimmesdale did not follow the Christian moral code. Nevertheless, most secular viewpoints exemplify the perfection and outstandingness of The Scarlet Letter. Due to their lack of religious bias, “secular periodicals tended to slant their discussions toward aesthetic issues” (Smith).

From pages 129-158, the altered definition of Hester’s scarlet letter, Dimmesdale’s internal conflict with his conscience, his earnest determination for a solution, the progression in time, and Pearl’s perspective on Hester’s “A” are major actions that take place. Previously, readers may note the decline in Dimmesdale’s mental and physical health. Hawthorne describes this predicament as a “bodily disease” and “black trouble of the soul” that gnaws and tortures Dimmesdale (123). The unusual Roman-like practices he performs instead of the Puritan ones are significant details observed in this dilemma as well.

(Insert quote). Hester also does not believe that what she did was a sin since her and Chillingworth were never really married because they did not love each other. She even tells Chillingworth, “thou knowest that I was drank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any”. This is hypocritical of Hester because she says she did not commit a sin but yet she wears the scarlet letter without a fight. If she hasn’t committed a sin, why wear it? In addition, Hester says to him, “What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so” (Hawthorne __). Chillingworth asks Hester not to reveal his identity to anyone and Hester agrees but she says she says she loves Dimmesdale (Hawthorne __). Thus, Hester could be blamed responsible for Dimmesdale’s pain caused by Chillingworth because if she truly did love Dimmesdale, she would have warned Dimmesdale about who Chillingworth really is to begin with.

Johnson, Claudia Durst . "A Literary Analysis of The Scarlet Letter ? Hester." Understanding The Scarlet Letter. Literature in Context Online. Greenwood Press, 2002. 31 May