Arthur Dimmesdale's Use Of Punishment In Scarlet Letter

his sermons becoming better and more relatable, his nightly lashings, and the deterioration of his health. Dimmesdale 's sermons becoming more relatable proves that with each passing day, he can feel the guilt of his mistake gaining weight on his psyche. His lashings indicate that he is cowardly and would rather physically hurt himself in private than take responsibility for what what he has done with dignity and honesty. The deterioration in his health is symbolic of the time he has left to confess. The longer Dimmesdale took to confess, the worse his condition got; his sickness was pushing himself to confess by draining his health so he would finally break and redeem himself. Throughout the novel, Dimmesdale attempted to keep his double life together but his guilt forced him to confess, exposing his true nature.

Self destruction and deprivation. A problem most may not think they have to deal with on a day to day basis. Especially since most people do not tear themselves apart piece by piece through guilt and denial, to the point at where they perish. Which is why in that regard, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is not most people. In the novel, A Scarlet letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, one of main character, Reverend Dimmesdale, has committed one of the most horrific sins a man during his time in Puritan society could commit. Dimmesdale has slept with Hester Prynne, another main character, not only out of wedlock, but also while Hester was still married to another man named Roger Chillingsworth. This sin of adultery immediately brought down the wrath of society onto hester in the form of a scarlet ‘A’ for adultery that she must wear on her bosom for the rest of her life. But in dimmesdale’s case, he is let go without anyone other than Hester in town knowing of his sin. Not only does Chillingsworth make it his life’s mission to seek his revenge on the Reverend, but Dimmesdale also lives a life gull og Hypocrisy with his guilt and shame slowly eating away at himself from the inside. Through the use of Reverend Dimmesdale, and his sins, Hawthorne derives the truth that living a life of hypocrisy and self denial is much worse than just being honest to yourself and others. He conveys that once you are set into denial and hypocrisy, it's becomes impossible to go back, which therefore makes it

In Dimmesdale’s home, Hawthorne describes a work depicting the Prophet Nathaniel, David, and Bathsheba: “The walls were hung round with tapestry, said to be from the Gobelin looms, and, at all events, representing the Scriptural story of David and Bathsheba, and Nathan the Prophet, in colours still unfaded, but which made the fair woman of the scene almost as grimly picturesque as the woe-denouncing seer” (Hawthorne 188). In the story referenced, King David has an affair with a married woman, Bathsheba. King David then proceeds to ignore his sin, which results in multiple deaths and more sin. Hawthorne foreshadows the reveal of Dimmesdale as the father and his uncertainty in the sin. Dimmesdale struggles with determining his relationship with his sin. Hawthorne emphasizes how Dimmesdale’s internal struggle on whether to accept his sin causes pain for himself and others. Hawthorne discourages people’s denial of sin in order to prevent further sin and pain.

Moreover, Dimmesdale`s suffering reflect on the outside when he was sick of not confessing his truth. For example, of this is that in the book the another has shown us that Dimmesdale suffering is reflecting him on the outside that why in the chapters Dimmesdale keeps on holding on his heart on where the letter “A” is carve on this chest. Another is that when Dimmesdale was leading the church to tell the town folks about how God will be like if you did not follow in the correct way he will sin you that why Dimmesdale did not what to tell everybody about it if he did he could get killed and thought out as a minister in the church and also the townsfolks always believe that Dimmesdale is the only one that can connect to God and he cannot do

In the book The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne remarks on his thoughts of his Puritan ancestors’ in his introduction and wording throughout the novel. In his introduction, he sets the tone on Puritanism by remarking, “” In the story itself, Hawthorne writes

The novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts 1800’s Puritan religious beliefs through Hester Prynne’s adultery and Arthur Dimmesdale’s infidelity. Hawthorne ties aspects of his life into The Scarlet Letter; the introduction to the novel takes place in a Custom House which is based on an actual Custom House where Hawthorne used to work (Scarlet). Hawthorne comes from an ancestry full of men involved in legalism, and dealt with the witch trials. He is very shameful when it comes to his past and writes The Scarlet Letter with a strong female lead (Diorio). Hawthorne was a part of a Puritan community growing up and, “He had ample cognizance of the Puritan conscience; it was his natural heritage; it was reproduced in him; looking into his soul he found it there” (James 228). Hawthorne

Dimmesdale, the quintessence guilt is invariably tormented by his repressed iniquity which evolved from his affair with Hester Prynne. As the plot thickens, Dimmesdale becomes more and more disturbed by his internal repression and begins to illustrate multiple examples of hypocrisy. Living a hypocritical life he juggles between publicly being a righteous Reverend and privately being a sinner. His need to repent against the lies he speaks eventually brings him to the town scaffold in the dead of night. While alone, “Standing on the scaffold,” Dimmesdale is able to release his built up agony “in [a] vain show of expiation” (Hawthorne 139). By emphasising the presence of nighttime, the author enables Dimmesdale's inner nature to manifest itself concealed in the solitude of darkness, as compared to his actions in the daytime where he exhibits piousness and his secrets remain repressed. To Dimmesdale, the scaffold is an allegory of repentance, by confessing his sin in an identical way to Heyster as a means of expiation, he justifies his sin as if he had confessed it publicly. Another

Symbolism in a character portrays the true meaning behind that individual and gives the reader a better understanding of the novel as a whole. Dimmesdale is very well-known to the people of the Puritan town in Boston. In this book, he proves to everyone that he is a true sinner, but not a well-known sinner. He kept this secret of adultery from everyone in the town; it showed that he is a “secret sinner.” Dimmesdale symbolizes weakness and self-centered intellectualism; he understands what is right, but doesn’t have the courage to confess his sins to the town. The main reason the people of the town love Dimmesdale is because he hasn’t told them his sins. He accepts that once he does reveal what he did wrong, the citizens will treat him awfully.

Though not exemplary, his actions are rooted in the desire to surpass the ordinary and to achieve personal dignity and nevertheless, his means are tragic and striving towards what is humanly impossible only destines him for downfall. His intentions are never sinful, just fallacious, as he doesn't understand that in his desperate strive towards salvation, he inadvertently becomes "a man devoid of conscience, - a wretch with coarse and brutal instincts" (137). Yet, it very well may be as Hawthorne notes, “...human to avoid the peril of death and infamy…” (147) as we hold these to be "the inscrutable machinations of an enemy" (147). Thus, some readers say he cannot be blamed entirely for what he does to himself. It is clear in this light that Dimmesdale's fatal flaw is not his sin, but his hypocrisy, as his sin is amplified by his refusal to face and accept it. He is aware of the "subtle, but remorseful hypocrite" (92) that he is, yet refuses to correct himself. Dimmesdale's flawed nature is additionally a comment made by Hawthorne on the effects of private vigil and public shame. He carries on, "looking pure as new-fallen snow," while his heart

After the minister's clandestine meeting with Hester in the forest, Hester has convinced him that they must leave the colony and return to England where they can live together as a family. Arthur Dimmesdale departs, looking backward, uncertain of what he has truly experienced. With the quandary of public hypocrisy and private suffering seemingly solved now, Dimmesdale's mind is free to consider other possibilities, and, like a child released from rules, his spirit feels a sense of release. He considers that he yet has time to give the Election Sermon, deceiving himself that the townspeople will at least say he performed his duties to the end. Having held his sin within his heart so long, Dimmesdale has become delusional. Of this Hawthorne

Dimmesdale delivers a wonder sermon on the town’s election day, but as unfortunately for him, the bad things keep snowballing. Dimmesdale takes Hester by the hand and brings her up on a familiar scaffold with him, and he finally confesses his sin of committing adultery with Hester. Dimmesdale then reveals a scarlet letter “A” on his chest, put there by himself or as a sign from God, therefore revealing his shame and guilt by letting everyone see. Shortly after, while still on the scaffold, he dies. Dimmesdale may have had a lot of bumps in the road on his journey through life, but did he end by doing the right thing. By bringing Hester up on the scaffold with to finally confess his sin he finally practices what he has preached that those who sin must be punished, thus the scarlet letter. It also shows, although not displayed at the beginning of the story because of his cowardness to confess sooner, that Dimmesdale is courageous enough to display his wrong doings to the public instead of hiding it furthermore. Dimmesdale had his ups and downs throughout life, but did still prove that he was a man of God and stood by his

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s gloomy and gothic atmosphere sets the overall mood of The Scarlet Letter. The novel invokes a sense of great anticipation in the reader, particularly through the dramatic events surrounding the novel’s protagonist, Arthur Dimmesdale. However, the way his motivations and conflicts intertwine and mature throughout the novel allows the readers to see that he is much more than just a sinner ultimately getting what he rightfully deserves. His persona and values also evolve throughout the book; showing how a man who keeps the truth withheld from those who need to hear it can lead to that man’s destruction.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s gloomy and gothic atmosphere sets the overall mood of The Scarlet Letter. The novel invokes a sense of great anticipation in the reader, particularly through the dramatic events surrounding the novel’s protagonist, Arthur Dimmesdale. However, the way his motivations and conflicts intertwine and mature throughout the novel allows the readers to see that he is much more than just a sinner ultimately getting what he rightfully deserves. His persona and values also evolve throughout the book; showing how a man who keeps the truth withheld from those who need to hear it can lead to that man’s destruction.

In 17th century America, society was largely structured around religion; society in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is structured around Puritanism. In the middle of chapter 9, he makes a statement about Reverend Dimmesdale, a respected minister, straying from Puritan thought. He draws an analogy between Puritan society and a dark, confining study where an open window letting in fresh air represents the only source of free thought. Throughout the passage, Hawthorne expresses both his dislike of Puritan society’s restrictions and its impact and influence on Reverend Dimmesdale.

The Scarlet Letter entrances the reader in an emotional and gut-wrenching background of a single New England Puritan colony, in which a precedence is set around religious beliefs that forbid any love that does not abide by the law. Hester Prynne, a remarkably strong woman and the protagonist of the story, along with the minister of the town, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, have an affair that is conceived to be a sin worthy of death in the town, yet the two are able escape this punishment. As Dimmesdale hides from his crime in cowardly ways, the woman whom he sins with expresses such braveness and dignity on the scaffold that in turn, she is able to live on. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne takes the Puritan society in which he devises and seemingly