What Was The Significance Of Dimmesdale In Scarlet Letter

Later in The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale digs himself into a dark hole of shame and failure. At this point in the book Dimmesdale’s guilt has built up to an extreme amount he inflicts torment

In the 21 century adultery is not considered unacceptable . However in a 16 century Puritan society adultery is a very bad and serious sin. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale is a powerful religious figure in town. Arthur Dimmesdale is a Puritan preacher that committed adultery with Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale went through the whole novel, over the course of seven years, without confessing his sin and it was mentally killing him. Dimmesdale changed from accusatory to Hester to remorseful to god, this change is showed by his use of diction, his purpose of each speech, and his use of appeals.

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.

The insight I have gained from this excerpt is the reason being Pearl rejects Dimmesdale is as a result from him not publically acknowledging her. Furthermore, the reason being Pearl dislikes him is, due to he acts differently when in public, in contrast when he was in the forest, to illustrate he holds hands with pearl in the forest, however when they are in public he behaves as if they don't know each other. In addition, the insight I have gained is that Pearl exclaims to her mother that he is a strange man, in order to mock and ridicule Dimmesdale and Hester. Furthermore she achieves mocking and ridiculing Hester and Dimmesdale by referencing that he holds his hand over his heart, in order to connect it with the scarlet letter in Hester’s

It does not help that part Chillingworth’s revenge is to increase his mental suffering by getting into Dimmesdale’s head by tormenting him into hearing what he already knows-- guilt from sin is the reason for his sickness. This literally complies him to go mad. As Dimmesdale forbids himself to sleep, starves himself, whips himself, and imposes other forms of abuse, nothing comes close to making him feel better. At this time of his mental illness, Dimmesdale has truly lost all perspective to the point where he experiences self-torment in the form of hallucinations and delusions. The narrator explains, “In these lengthened vigils, his brain often reeled, and visions seemed to flit before him”(Hawthorne 172).

What is the worst thing you have done, and what impact did it have on your life? Did you feel guilty for those actions, and if you did, how did they impact and continue to impact your life? In the Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a character commits an action he sees as so deplorable the guilt leads to significant repercussion and, eventually, his death As the novel is set in the Puritan times of the US, the citizens who live in the small town are subject to extreme scrutiny and a harsh moral code. Thus, when Puritan minister Dimmesdale commits adultery, a cardinal sin according to Puritans, with a woman named Hester Prynne, he feels the weight of his sin pressing down on him. Over time, Dimmesdale’s guilt over his sin continues

In the Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, there are many characters that accept different fates. One of them is Reverend Dimmesdale. In the story, Dimmesdale commits a serious crime and sleeps with Hester Prynne and they have a baby. Fortunately for Dimmesdale, no one knows he is the father. He stays for strong for a while but because Hester takes 100% of the blame he begins to build a great amount of guilt for the rest of his life. Having guilt makes things worse especially when he is a reverend. Dimmesdale feels worse and worse and eventually starts putting himself through physical pain because of the sin he has committed. Dimmesdale’s ability to transform from a man of god to a sinner and back to a holy man proves that men can be

In the same way symbolism strengthens Pearl’s character, the meaning behind Arthur Dimmesdale’s name helps to reveal his personality and identifies his importance to the novel. By carefully observing Dimmesdale’s name, a reader can discover that it is associated with the definition of the words “dim” and “dismal.” The word “dim” connotes Dimmesdale’s weak character and his ignorance to his surroundings. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale is described as a person without much strength and one that begins to deteriorate at the expense of his hidden guilt. He is a weak character who becomes ill as the story progresses and suffers continual pain; the narrator reveals that “he [is] often observed . . .

This is due to the fact that Dimmesdale is being a hypocrite, and ultimately he is not practicing what he preaches. To compensate for his lack of a public punishment, Dimmesdale whips himself with a “bloody….”add a quote(Hawthorne PAGE NUMBER###). This is a significant trait in the novel, and it indicates to the reader that Dimmesdale feels both guilty and shameful and has driven his own mind to insanity. Furthermore, the concealed sin damages Dimmesdale’s physical, mental, and moral status.

In the story “Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne there were characteristics and ways that distinguished Hester from Dimmesdale. On pages 68 and 69 Nina Baym made the statement that Dimmesdale depends on the opinion of the society while Hester stands alone throughout her trials and tribulations. If the author put it clear as possible on the situation at hand and the circumstances that favored Dimmesdale more than Hester while she faced her consequences head on while he hid from them. There is a tremendous amount of overloading evidence and information throughout the story proving this statement.

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

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, dimmesdale is a character who changes from guilty to relieved as a result of him confessing. At the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale is guilty because he knows he is the father of Pearl but won’t confess. “Dimmesdale is incapable of confessing that he was Hester's lover .” Dimmesdale wants to hide his sin because he is a minister and it would make him look bad.

Dimmesdale is a powerful person in the Puritan community, but he was being used to influence the future of the new world. Nathaniel Hawthorne was a Puritan himself, so it is obvious that the bible would hold a great affect on his writing. Throughout the story Dimmesdale is both close to god and the devil, being a minister and a sinner. Nathaniel Hawthorne writes many hints of an internal struggle, some people think of it as being human, but it is to show the power of good and evil, god and the devil, guilt in a person's heart.

Dimmesdale can’t really be understood without the least knowledge of puritans that were in Boston at this time. They expected Dimmesdale to live a perfect life, along with all others. As well as they thought they could work their way to Heaven. Dimmesdale was suffering because he was worried he wasn’t going to Heaven because of his sins. He’s great at doing his duties as a puritan pastor, - which makes him seem as an elect - although he considers himself a hypocrite.

Throughout history, religious figures such as priests and popes have often been regarded as representatives of God on earth. Seen as divine and pure, these members of religious authority are highly praised by their communities, and perceived as role models to all who seek to fulfill the word of the Lord. But, not all of these people are as faithful as they let on. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale is a reverend who is admired by all in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.