you think he would do? Would the townspeople believe her?
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a religious figure, comes to embody hypocrisy, resulting in so much guilt that he becomes ill. His guilty conscience produces the mysterious appearance of the scarlet letter on his skin over his heart and ultimately causes his death. Dimmesdale’s illegitimate daughter is especially hard on her father. Until he renounces his hypocrisy, she has little to do with him. When he finally reveals the truth about himself, she loves him for who he is. The narrator warns us not to let our reputations become more important than our lives, and it poses an interesting question about the danger of valuing appearances
Mr. Dimmesdale is a saintly minister who through his sermons and good nature has won the hearts of his parishioners. He is a good man, but he is fearful of ruining his saintly image by letting out his guilty secret. On Election day however, Dimmesdale finally does reveal his sin. But he does so at his dying moment to absolve his soul not because hes a strong man. Were he a strong man, he would have come forward with his secret rather than allow it to slowly destroy him. “What can thy silence…..” (63) Even though Dimmesdale is pleading to Hester to give the name of her fellow sinner, he doesn’t really want her to reveal his identity. But he himself give the consequence of his silence and therefore reveals his hipocrisy. Dimmesdale himself sees his ugly inner self through his many long examinations in the mirror. This insight further intensifies his ill condition and insanity. But when he runs out to the scaffold, that night he is still concerned with his saintly image somewhat because he just meekly stands there has his fellow minister passes him and he doesn’t reveal his prescence. [continues]

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