How Did Arthur Dimmesdale Face The Sin Of Adultery

Everyone on the Earth has some point done something in his or her life that was considered wrong. Some have chosen to face the consequences of their wrongdoing while others just live knowing that they did something wrong, facing the guilt and shame in silence. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale chose to not face his sin of adultery for more than seven years, instead battling with the guilt. Arthur Dimmesdale is conflicted between the truth that will free his conscious setting him free of guilt and his position as the seemingly perfect town reverend. Dimmesdale decides not to tell the townspeople of his wrong doing until the end of the novel after battling with the decision between these two things. Dimmesdale is

Dimmesdale tortures himself by staying up all night practicing vigils and not taking care of his health. He is sleep deprived and a man named Roger Chillingworth make things worse. Dimmesdale is already in poor health when he starts to stay up all night doing vigils. Dimmesdale’s goal with all of his vigils and praying is to hopefully to get rid of his sin thereby freeing his conscious. He continually tries to purify himself, but comes to the conclusion that he “could not purify himself”. After this conclusion, Dimmesdale finds himself at the same platform where Hester was convicted of her sin at. He stands there thinking about everything that has happened to both him and Hester. When Pearl asks him if he will stand with them at noon, he is conflicted yet again thinking about the consequences of what that would lead too. He tells Pearl no, still wanting to keep his post as the town reverend. Dimmesdale thinks about this even more throughout the novel. When he meets with Hester and Pearl in the woods he comes to the conclusion that he needs to tell the truth to the townspeople with Hester and Pearl at his side. When Dimmesdale does tell the townspeople that he committed adultery they do not believe him. After failing to convince them, Dimmesdale dies with a heavy heart. Although, they don’t judge him as harshly as they did Hester. This illustrates that by not confessing your sin, you are only hurting yourself. Confessing up front and moving on and prevent lifetime of pain, bad health and a early death. His death comes suddenly, but his life could have been prolonged if he wouldn’t have hurt himself throughout the novel. Dimmesdale’s pain and choice to admit his sin illuminates the meaning of the novel even more than if he would have never confessed his