What Is Dimmesdale's Loss Of Innocence

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne characterizes Pearl with contrasting personalities and roles she plays in Hester’s life. Pearl’s conflicting personality components, innocence and defiance, both derive from her isolation from society, which transpired because of her mother’s sin. Pearl represents the conflict between everything good and dark, which reflects in the role she plays in Hester’s life, as the physical embodiment of the A. While Pearl serves as a savior to Hester, representing possible redemption, she is also Hester’s tormentor, a constant reminder of her sin, and the consequences of disobeying her Puritan nature and religion. Hawthorne’s intent is established in the novel through Pearl’s attachment to the A, the mirror

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 this short excerpt from The Scarlet Letter describing the meeting of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, the author—without the use of any dialogue—details their mental states and his attitudes towards them. Mainly through the use of literary devices such as metaphor, simile, and antithesis, the author successfully compares the mental states of the two characters and subtly includes his own attitudes towards them.

In spite of that, what makes her the protagonist of the story is how she is able to overcome her punishment that was meant to give her shame. Throughout Chapter 13 of the book, Hawthorne shows how Hester’s confidence has developed in herself and in view of the town, most noticeably when considering the meaning of the scarlet letter, “Such helpfulness was found in her ... that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength,” (Hawthorne 107). Instead of subjecting to the shame that was forced upon her, she grew above it, conveying a different aspect of the theme of guilt, which is redemption. This is not to say that Hester did not care about the sin she committed, as she is very much reminded of it every day of her life while living with the child of that sin. In fact, the author addresses this by saying, “In giving her existence a great law had been broken; and the result was a being whose elements were perhaps beautiful and brilliant, but all in disorder,” (Hawthorne 60). Hawthorne is implying how Pearl represents the outcome of a sin and arranged it so that Hester is always living with that sin, therefore, always being reminded of the shame she is supposed to

"Life is hard, but accepting that fact makes it easier." This common phrase clearly states a harsh fact that Rev. Dimmesdale, a character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, had to face. In this story of deception and adultery set in the Puritan era, Hawthorne introduces Dimmesdale as a weak and cowardly man who refuses to take responsibility for his actions.  The Rev. Dimmesdale is a transitional character in that he is, at the beginning of the novel, outwardly good but inwardly deceitful and by the end of the novel he becomes both outwardly and inwardly truthful.

All of the major characters in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne are dynamic and go through some form of character development. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, who are at the forefront of the central conflict in the plot of the novel, are no exception. While their respective evolutions in character were noticeably different, each was emphasized by the three scaffold scenes. The differences of Hester and Dimmesdale’s respective character developments are highlighted and emphasized by the three scaffold scenes in the novel.

Life is unpredictable, and through trial and error humanity learns how to respond to conflicts and learns how to benefit from mistakes. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a character who changes and gains knowledge from the trials he faces, but first he has to go through physical, spiritual, and emotional agony. In the midst of all the havoc, the young theologian is contaminated with evil but fortunately his character develops from fragile to powerful, and the transformation Dimmesdale undergoes contributes to the plot’s climax.

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

This, as Arthur Dimmesdale almost prophetically expresses in the early scenes of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, was the role of Pearl, the elfish child borne of his and Hester Prynne's guilty passion. Like Paul's thorn in the flesh, Pearl would bring trouble, heartache, and frustration to Hester, but serve a constructive

Desire, passion, love, sex, adultery, evil, religion, law, and judgement are the primary topics that make reading The Scarlet Letter more interesting. Caught up in passion, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, succumb to their desire in the forest. Hester is a married woman and Arthur Dimmesdale is the Puritan community minister. Their affair is adultery and brought to light when Hester becomes pregnant. Pearl is the illegitimate daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale.

Within the pages of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel, The Scarlet Letter, the character of Arthur Dimmesdale, minister in the puritan society, changes tremendously. Specifically in chapters nine through eleven is where his change is most evident. In chapter 9, on page 116, Hawthorne offers up an intricate description of Dimmesdale, his newly discovered sin, and how he is dealing or rather not dealing, with the repercussions of his sin. This description depicts Dimmesdale’s epic struggle with his sin while being a minister in such an oppressive society like the Puritans, and how the deed is slowly eating him alive.

Mr. Dimmesdale is an almost perfect example of the contrast between public and private truth in The Scarlet Letter. The young clergyman is often seen as saint by the public. Many of his sermons throughout the book bring dozens to Christ in the small town. The people of the town even began to say,“The saint on earth! Alas, if he discern such sinfulness in his own white soul, what horrid spectacle would he behold in thine or mine!”(Hawthorne 246). In private though, Mr. Dimmesdale is actually being eaten alive by the guilt that his sin with Hester gave him. Mr. Dimmesdale’s adulterous act caused

Arthur Dimmesdale is a Weak Individual Weakness in a public official, is often covered up by lies. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale appears to be a leader, but on the inside, he is a coward. Throughout the story, Dimmesdale presents himself as a strong minister to the community of Boston. Dimmesdale keeps his identity a secret from many, to keep his elevated status. Through his sin, Dimmesdale has failed everyone who looks up to him.

Hester Prynne’s ability to sustain her stability and strength of spirit is the express result of her public guilt and penance. She was Arthur Dimmesdale’s partner in adultery, but she is used by Hawthorne as a complete foil to his situation. Unlike Dimmesdale, Hester is both strong and honest. Walking out of prison at the beginning of the novel, she decides that she must “sustain and carry” her burden forward “by the ordinary resources of her nature, or sink with it. She could no longer borrow from the future to help her through the present grief” (54). Hester openly acknowledges her sin to the public, and always wears her scarlet letter A. In the forest scene, she explains to Dimmesdale that she has been truthful in all things except in revealing his part in her pregnancy. “A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side” (133). Even Dimmesdale himself realizes that Hester’s situation is much healthier than his own when he states, “It must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as this poor woman Hester is, than to cover it all up in his heart” (92-93). This life of public shame and repentance, although bitter, lonely, and difficult, helps Hester retain her true identity while Dimmesdale seems to be losing his.

Offering Dimmesdale an escape, Hester is well aware that thus she challenges the community and will only exacerbate the conflict with it. Trying to rouse him to action, she rips off her mark, but Dimmesdale’s weak spirit (verbally agreeing with her) cannot decide to break with the old environment. So the scarlet letter for Hester is a pass to the world of freedom and independence. Surprisingly, Hawthorne at the end of the novel didn’t allow her heroine to escape from the musty and alien society - she puts back the