Hester Prynne And Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

“When you point a finger at someone else, then three fingers point back at you” (My Second Grade Teacher). In the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne jeers at the absurd Puritan era and crime and punishment. But the renowned author touches on a more personal theme, an issue that everyone has come across: self evaluation. Even though Hester Prynne, a honest adulterer, and Arthur Dimmesdale, a untruthful priest, are first to sin it is still viewed that Robert Chillingworth, an abandoned husband seeking revenge, has “violated the sanctity of human heart” (Hawthorne 234). To compare the sin that was brought on by choice and sin initiated by another should not be evaluated.There is no argument that Chillingworth’s revenge on Dimmesdale is evil, he plotted against Dimmesdale soon as he confirmed he was Hester’s lover. But the aggravators of sin, Hester and Dimmesdale, must be held responsible for the effects of their actions. Unlike Hester, Dimmesdale refuses to confess to having premarital sex. Adulturing is sinful but the lies, acting, and observing others take the full
Only when alone does his remorse attack him. He not once accuses Chillingsworth to be the direct source of evil until he is with another person, Hester. His sorrow and regret only hurt him, but if he would have showed his true feelings alongside Hester, yes he would have lost his reputation, but he would also protect the values that he preaches about. He could have taken some of the pressure off of Hester and Pearl. Or even allowed Robert Chillingworth to move on. But, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale received what he wished most of all: living life without his own scarlet letter for the public to see. The clergyman destroyed himself and those around him, all for the superficiality of a reputation. It makes one wonder at what lengths and sacrifices are people willing to go to before accepting and confronting their own scarlet