Mr. Dimmesdale In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Although his actions and decisions seem to be bad, the character gets sympathized for his internal struggles. Afraid of revealing his sin to the public shows his lack of courage. A reason for this lack of courage is due to puritan beliefs. The puritans had religious exclusiveness that was the foremost principle of their society. The Puritans were strict and had punishments for everything especially adultery. In chapter 3 , “The Recognition”,Dimmesdale pleads Hester to tell who the partner in the sin was but she refuses. “She will not speak!” murmurs Mr. Dimmesdale, who was leaning over the balcony, with his hand upon his heart …” This quote shows how Dimmesdale is accusing Hester of not admitting who sinned with her when he did not. The placement of Dimmesdale 's hand over his heart later on is revealed that he has a his own letter carved in his chest. By putting his hand on his chest he is reminded of his cowardice for letting Hester take the full blame of infidelity. During the years Dimmesdale becomes tormented by the dichotomy between what he is and what people believe him to be. His parishioners are "hungry for the truth" and listen to his words as if "a tongue of Pentecost were speaking!". Even though the people listen to him and believe everything he says he still lacks the courage to tell them his sin. He bears his shame alone. This shows that Dimmesdale suffers from his reputation with his society but also shows his cowardness. Dimmesdale was becoming more popular His hypocrisy shows from the beginning when he calls Hester out for not talking the truth but he himself is too scared to tell due to how he is viewed in this society. He can 't be classified as evil or purely

Hawthorne makes clear the thoughts of Dimmesdale by continuously repeating them. Dimmesdale is up on the scaffold and wants nothing more than for Hester and Pearl to join him, “come hither! Come…” he repeats to them throughout the scene. Hawthorne makes Dimmesdale wish so clear in order to show that he is exposing his sin for their benefit. Along with needing Hester and Pearl by his side, Dimmesdale also illuminates that “with God’s help” he will be free. Hawthorne engrains that Dimmesdale could not stand up and speak out if he didn’t believe that God was in his corner. Hawthorne’s use of parallelism clarifies to the audience what they already know, Dimmesdale is a weak man who needs reassurance from another person or entity that

Hester is punished by being publicly humiliated, forced to the top of the scaffold and to expose her scarlet letter that she wore, and being booed and hissed at amongst the public. As Dimmesdale is upon the scaffold, he calls to the citizens of the town during the night, and Hester and Pearl soon join him, when a meteor later appears in the sky. The meteor appears in the sky looking like a letter A. Dimmesdale thinks that it is a demeaning representation of his sin, just like Hester’s scarlet letter. Chillingworth’s position on the scaffold involves Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl upon the scaffold with him, with Dimmesdale revealing Chillingworth’s true evil figure after the torture he had committed upon Dimmesdale as revenge for his adulterous affair with Hester.

The relationship between Pearl and Reverend Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter is one that both intrigues the reader and keeps them wanting to find out more. At the beginning of the story nothing is very clear about Pearl’s father but as you read on there are many cues that lead you to Reverend Dimmesdale, the pastor of the church where Pearl’s mother, Hester Prynne, was a member. Through all the twists and turns there are a few things that stick out in the readers mind such as the progression of their relationship, the behavior and psychology of Pearl and how the novel could be seen as a story almost all about Pearl.

Due to the fact that Dimmesdale and Hester could not even ignore their initial attraction, the passion that carries throughout their relationship is undeniable. The love they posses for one another only grows stronger as their community and religion constantly reiterates how the should not be together. Not only having admiration for one other, once their child come into the world, they both carry intense amounts of devotion towards keeping it safe. Though Dimmesdale is scared to admit, it is adamant to readers that he cares for her even more so than himself. As Pearl faces the same shame as her parents, such as being called “an imp of evil, emblem and product of sin" (Hawthorne, 129), her need for care and attention grows larger. The final aspect of love in the novel is one of the importance and connection to family. The humiliation and contempt they all felt brought them closer together as they did not want to witness any of their suffering. Pearl’s reaction to her father’s death exemplifies the depth and strength of their connection. The narrator describes their final moments by saying “Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies” (Hawthorne, 352). He goes on to express her sorrow through illustrating her tears and grief. This loss clarified for young Pearl that though she might have appreciated her father before, she loved him more than

When all three of them were on the scaffold Pearl was described as “Pearl she a symbol, and the connecting link between the two”(139). When they were on the scaffold pearl connected Hester and Dimmesdale. As soon as Pearl held hands with both of them she felt as if she was no longer a product of sin because of Hester and Dimemsdasles actions. When the townspeople saw this they thought that Pearl was a magical human that brought together two people in a tough time. After they stopped holding hands Pearl “withdrew her hand form Mr. Dimmesdale’s, and pointed across the street. But he clasped both his hands over his breast, and cast his eyes towards the zenith”(139). When Pearl let go of his hand she pointed across the street, which was a way of her saying that she changed. As soon as she does this Dimmesdale puts his hand over his chest and looks away. He doesn’t want to accept that he caused Pearl to now be viewed as a Non

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy,” (KJV 28:13). The message of this short proverb is simple: confess. Despite this, there are millions refusing to reveal their hidden atrocities to the oblivious public. But you don’t need public ridicule for a sin to destroy you, in fact, it would be better if you did confess. This is the ideology of Nathaniel Hawthorne author of The Scarlet Letter. In this book, Hawthorne details an elaborate story showing the consequences of confessing sins in contrast to concealing it. A sin weighing down on you and destroying you from the inside out is a moral consequence and, the only remedy is confessing the sin. This notion can be seen in the difference between Hester and Dimmesdale with how they handled the scarlet letter and the effects of that.

Throughout human nature, people do not tell strangers as many details about themselves as they would a family member. Nathaniel Hawthorne examines these faces throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter. People that wear two faces will cause immense guilt for themself and negative consequences to others.

“And the infectious poison of that sin had been thus rapidly diffused throughout his moral system” (Hawthorne 174). In The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale serves as the holiest person many people meet in their moral lifetime, and as the purest embodiment of God’s word. However, Dimmesdale has a wounding secret, a cancer, that tears his soul apart throughout his time in America. Dimmesdale falls prey to sin in a moment of passion with Hester, resulting in her condemnation by the townspeople, and the birth of their child, Pearl. For years, Dimmesdale’s life is defined by an internal conflict - his job demands his purity in the eye of the townspeople, but he desires the acceptance of herself that Hester achieves through her sin being made public. His

Building an Empire becomes problematic when the colonizers know nothing about the territory being colonized. Britain began colonizing India in the 1700s, completely ignorant about the people of India and their cultural and religious beliefs. Ignorance comes from a lack of knowledge. This lack of knowledge can be by choice, like in this situation. Despite their ignorance, Englishmen still came into India with an arrogant attitude. They believed they were superior to the people of India, therefore it did not matter what the people of India believed or how British actions made them feel. In “The Mark of the Beast”, Rudyard Kipling uses symbolism to portray ignorance and arrogance in India brought on during its colonization by Britain. The character of Fleete exemplifies that ignorance and insensitivity, and he ultimately pays a grave price.

Dimmesdale is trying to overcome a conflict within his own soul, defying his own religion, and choosing to do wrong by keeping his sin to himself. In a theocracy type community like Dimmesdale's, God is known as the supreme civil ruler, and a crime would be known as a sin. On the other hand, Hester’s sin was made known to the public, receiving the public shame and ridicule she deserved. During the duration of time when the public knew Dimmesdale was hiding his sin, “the agony with which this public tortured him” (Hawthorne 119). causing Dimmesdale to feel terribly ill inside, knowing he is hiding his secret. When Dimmesdale says he is “ill,” it is his soul and emotions that are ill, knowing that he has a huge secret hidden and that the townspeople know, but he does not have a real sickness. Dimmesdale’s greatest fear is what other people’s opinion of him are, causing him to continually be living in fear. The guilt that Dimmesdale encounters is holding him back from letting out his sin because of his fear of what people will think of him. Defying his own beliefs, Dimmesdale shares his guilt through his sermons by saying “to reckon all things shadow-like, and utterly devoid of weight or value, that had not its divine essence and the life within their life” ( Hawthorne 119). Dimmesdale saying that to

The Scarlet Letter, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, contains the motif of a red letter “A” that brings the story to life. The scarlet letter is an embroidered symbol which incorporates power in the novel. The scarlet letter upon Hester's bosom evolved and developed from something negative to something positive; from Hester, the villagers, Pearl, and Hawthorne, the views of the scarlet letter changed drastically.

In the “Scarlet Letter,” Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays hypocrisy of the Puritan society, where the protagonist Hester Prynne face many consequences of her actions and the how she tries to redeem herself to the society. During the seventeenth puritans believe that it is their mission to punish the ones who do not follow God’s word and it is their job to stop those from sinning. Therefore, the hypercritical puritan society punishes Hester harshly for committing adultery, but in Hester’s mind, she believes that what she did was not a sin but acts of love for her man. Eventually, she redeems herself by turning her crime into an advantage to help those in need, yet the Puritan society still view her as a “naughty bagger.” (Hawthorne 78)

In Kate Chopin’s The Awakening protagonist Edna Pontellier is said to possess “That outward existence which conforms, the inward life which questions.” In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne is a character who outwardly conforms while question inwardly. Prynne is humiliated and is publicly shamed by wearing the scarlet letter upon her bosom for seven years by everyone. Going through that horrible journey she begins to question Pearl inwardly. Although some may claim that Roger Chillingworth is the best character represented by this statement, Prynne would most definitely relate more especially with the forceful marriage.

The townspeople who see the red A in the sky interpret it as a sign of respect for Governor Winthrop. They believe that since he passed that night, they believe the A stood for the word Angel.