Minister Dimmesdale In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

A Disappointing Crime
“Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.” -Bruce Lee. Everyone knows that minister Dimmesdale was guilty, but some people feel that it was right for him not to confess, while others strongly believe he should have taken ownership of his actions and confessed his sin. Minister Dimmesdale should have confessed his sin for these reasons, he would bear less shame, the people trusted him to confess, and Hester should not have to bear both of their burdens. The minister should have confessed his sin since he would bear less shame. Unfortunately, most of the minister’s shame came from the fact that he was hiding his sin. The people would graciously forgive the minister and the shame and guilt, which he had borne for so long, would slowly start to melt away. The people loved the minister; they would not hold a grudge against him. The sooner the minister confessed, the sooner he would start to heal. The minister’s

The people strongly believed that Dimmesdale would confess his sins; they trusted him and thought he would never keep something from them. Dimmesdale only made the situation worse. By not telling them, they would lose their trust in him. Eventually, someone would find out, and his faithful congregation would stop attending his services since he had lost their trust. Another reason Dimmesdale should have confessed his sins was that Hester should not have to bear the burden of shame alone. Since Dimmesdale was hiding, Hester, the woman who committed the sinful crime with Dimmesdale, was fully responsible for the crime they had both committed. It was unfair to Hester to bear the heavy guilt alone. If Dimmesdale really loved Hester, he would have sacrificed his job and his pride for her. Hester would feel free to be herself if she did not feel solely responsible for their