Hester Prynne And Dimmesdale In Scarlet Letter
In the book The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the transgressions of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale and the consequences of adultery and revenge. Roger Chillingworth, a physician and the secret spouse of Hester, torments Dimmesdale to his death. There is a substantial amount of evidence that Chillingworth’s sin is greater than the minister’s; but in reality, Dimmesdale has committed the greater sin. The common perspective is that Chillingworth commits a tremendous sin by torturing Arthur Dimmesdale to the verge of death. The reverend claims that he has infringed, “the sanctity of a human heart,” (17.21). Only some sins are capable of doing this and by doing so, the physician has pushed the minister to the breaking point and played a major role in his death. Even after Dimmesdale died, Chillingworth still wants to torture him even though,"thou hast escaped [him],”(23.28). Who would want to do more harm after death? Roger Chillingworth would and has done this. It appears that Chillingworth’s sin is worse than Dimmesdale and Hester's combined, but is it really? However, a closer analysis reveals that Dimmesdale bears the greater sin. First off, Hester and Dimmesdale had a secret relationship of …show more content…
They had to live, “in the outskirts of town,”(4.7) without the financial or emotional support of Dimmesdale. If Dimmesdale would have taken Hester and Pearl in from the start, his punishment would have been less harsh. Dimmesdale’s cowardice limits his contact in public between himself and Hester, fearing that any interaction may lead the townsfolk to believe that there is something in between the two. Dimmesdale doesn’t even talk to Hester and Pearl after three years until they meet, due to business, in the Governor's mansion. His sin would have been less severe if he would have at the least taken Hester and Pearl in and showed compassion without revealing his
Hester Prynne And Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter
696 Words | 3 PagesHester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have both committed a dreadful sin with torturous consequences. They contrast one another by their different responses to the outcome. Hester courageously accepted sin and the punishments, causing her to be content in living her life. On the other hand, Dimmesdale denied his sin, which triggered an illness that eventually leads to his death. This denial of sin induces effects of guilt that can be lethal and detrimental to a person.
Blindness In The Scarlet Letter
1270 Words | 6 PagesHe moves in with Dimmesdale, and claims he will care for him, but the public cannot see that his intention is to torture Dimmesdale. Hawthorne explains, “The intellect of Roger Chillingworth had now a sufficiently plain path before it. It was not, indeed, precisely that which he had laid out for himself to tread. Calm, gentle, passionless, as he appeared, there was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy” (126). He deliberately chooses to drive Chillingworth into insanity.
How Old Is Dimmesdale In Scarlet Letter
573 Words | 3 PagesWhile everyone around Dimmesdale thinks he is a kind and sensitive sweetheart, Dimmesdale is obviously a jerk from the way he treats Hester. Dimmesdale constantly received compliments about how godly and good he was, and highly respected by the townsfolk. He had “a freshness, and fragrance, and dewy purity of thought, which, as many people said, affected them like tile speech of an angel.” He therefore knew he had enough power over the town in order to allow Hester not to wear the Scarlet
Compare And Contrast Dimmesdale And Chillingworth
517 Words | 3 PagesThe young and beautiful Hester Prynne was once married to a man who had been missing for around three years and committed adultery with another man. Considering the time period this was no small action especially since her unnamed partner is Reverend Dimmesdale and in disguise her long lost husband is actually Roger Chillingworth. Both characters are covering up parts of their life that play a big role in who and why they are for their own individual reasons. Dimmesdale is cowardly covering up his crime in order to protect his holy name as well as himself from the shame and embarrassment that the truth will bring.
Character Foils In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
612 Words | 3 PagesThe reader is especially made aware of Dimmesdale's mental state in the eleventh chapter, “His inward trouble drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome, than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred” [150]. This suggests that he is racked with immense guilt and shame at the falsehood he is living and suggests that he is physically abusing himself as a result of this guilt. This directly contradicts Chillingworth's mental state of fury and vengeance that he falls deeper into as the story progresses. These two characters also hold striking incongruities as to what drives them onward as the account
How Does Chillingworth Use Revenge In The Scarlet Letter
270 Words | 2 PagesEveryone, at some point in his or her life, has wanted to take revenge on someone. However, revenge is an obsessive, overwhelming response that is ultimately dissatisfying. In the Scarlet Letter, Chillingworth became completely preoccupied with taking revenge on Dimmesdale because he fathered a child with his wife, and through imagery, the gradual change from unpleasant physician to vengeful husband is shown. People say, “revenge is a dish best served cold.”
Hester Prynne Is The Worst Sinner In The Scarlet Letter
601 Words | 3 PagesHester is the biggest sinner throughout the romance and there is no reason to believe that Dimmesdale, or Chillingworth is. One main reason why Hester was the biggest sinner was because she was an adulteress to begin with. Toward the beginning of the book, the townspeople had accused her of having a baby with another man because the husband was nowhere to be seen. This is important because it ties into many other reasons as to why she is the biggest sinner.
Chillingworth's Identity Quotes
505 Words | 3 PagesThe Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter by Daniel Hawthorne many villainous acts occur that contribute to the plot and direction of the text. One antagonist in the novel is Chillingworth, the “departed” husband of Hester Prynne. Chillingworth and his constant mission to gain his wife's love and to reveal the father with whom Hester's baby was conceived by leads him to take some villainous actions. Chillingworth took many actions to obtain his goals, examples of this are constantly exemplified throughout the novel, one example is Chillingworth’s unrelenting hatred towards Dimmesdale.
Chillingworth's Guilt Quotes
1003 Words | 5 PagesUpon Chillingworth’s arrival to the forest to discuss with Hester the matters of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth is already portrayed as a villainous
Arthur Dimmesdale's Guilt Quotes
1158 Words | 5 PagesMentally, his guilt strains his mind, which causes his physical deterioration, and the weakening of his body. As Dimmesdale finally admits his sin to the townspeople, his guilt is lifted, and he is able to release himself from his captivity. Though he deteriorated both mind and body from his guilt, by telling the townspeople of his sin, it was as if “a spell was broken” (238). He no longer needed to force himself to hide his sin, which was what was hurting him. By finally dealing with his sin in a similar way to Hester, Dimmesdale was able to free himself of his self-imposed captivity and
The Scarlet Letter Chillingworth Is The Greatest Sinner
392 Words | 2 PagesChillingworth is the greatest sinner because of his Sloth early on in the book, and his wrath throughout it all. Chillingworth commits sloth before the novel even begins. After getting captured by Native Americans, he still waits over two years before going up to see Hester. This is Sloth, he made a commitment of marriage, and did not seek any method of communication. “Thou knowest,” said Hester—for, depressed as she was, she could not endure this last quiet stab at the token of her shame—”thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any.”
Arthur Dimmesdale's Moral Development In Scarlet Letter
978 Words | 4 PagesThis remark implies that Dimmesdale’s morality revolves around his self-conscience and what is right and wrong in the eyes of society and his social status as a clergymen. He demands Hester to exploit him for his actions in taking part of the adultery scenario with Hester. With respect to Kohlberg’s level of moral reasoning, he is at stage 4 “Maintaining the Social Order” for risking his entire reputation as a respected man in society over the action of one sin. Then, in Chapter 10 by now most of the Puritan society built suspicion of Chillingworth as a devil seeking to take ill Dimmesdale's soul. Since Chillingworth was first seen god like for his knowledge in medical care, he was truly valued by the Puritan society.
Compare And Contrast Dimmesdale And Chillingworth A Sinner
480 Words | 2 PagesDimmesdale sinned with Hester Prynne by committing adultery. Although this was terrible and looked down upon, his crime was self inflicting and done out of passion. After Hester was punished for the crime, Dimmesdale was overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. This showed that Dimmesdale was a good person
Hester And Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter
743 Words | 3 PagesIn Dimmesdale not confessing and facing a punishment in the eyes of the church as well as the townspeople, causing him to take to his own means, while Hester is able to face a punishment. Dimmesdale does what he believes is right for his punishment by doing acts that damaged his mind and body. Dimmesdale, in creating his own punishment, holds vigils that last all night, fasted to the point that he barely ate anything at all, beat himself, and lost the will to live. Dimmesdale's sin stays with him throughout the book, and the readers see his mind and body deteriorate through his mysterious sickness, while the readers see Hester become a closed off outcast trying to repent. The townspeople in the book see DImmesdale's sickness, and how devoted he is to his faith and begin to believe that he is holy, and an angel sent to sent to save them, while Hester has repented and become able, as well as an
The Hidden Sin In The Scarlet Letter
686 Words | 3 PagesHe was the last person that people would think as a sinner. Dimmesdale was sin when he was committed adultery with Hester. He broke the law of church, but he was afraid to face the punishment and indifferent attitude from he masses. As a faithful follower, Dimmesdale also afraid the punishment of God, so he flog himself with a whip. The physical and spiral torture and the control of Chillingworth stranded him in a world that he cannot contact with others.
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