The scarlet letter
In the novel The Scarlet Letter, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne includes a series of meaningful citations, which are supported by examples. The quote that I chose to analyze and write about is; “No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which be the true.” The meaning of this quote is that you cannot be two different people in life. It is not possible to be a different person with your friends or family, which is mentioned in this quote as “the multitudes", when in reality you are a completely different person while alone. If you try to act like this, you will eventually get confused and end up showing the face you are trying to hide. The word bewildered is used to describe this. This quote applies to all three of the main characters of this novel.
It applies to Arthur Dimmesdale because he clearly is not the man that he appears to be, as he should also have an “A” on his chest because she committed the sin with Hester. But instead, he is the puritan minister of the town. To me, Dimmesdale is the best example for this quote because as he tries to live with the lie of him being a sinner, the guilt that goes along with such deception consumes his entire life and he is then unable to continue lying as much, to the point that it affects his well-being. The quote also applies to Hester Prynne, but in quite a different way then it does to Dimmesdale, because it was not her choice to wear the “face” that she was forced to wear for committing a sin. The mark of the scarlet letter on her chest is how people who see her, perceive her. This is also how Hester sees herself. At first, Hester did not consider the sin that she committed as serious and horrible as the people of Boston did, until she was forced to wear the “face” of a sinner and therefore adapted a new perception of her.
Another great example of someone who is “two-faced” is Roger Chillingworth. He tried to get close to Arthur Dimmesdale in order to seek revenge on him for having the affair with Hester. By doing this, he pretends to be a physician taking care of the unhealthy minister. Eventually, Chillingworth makes a grand statement, to Dimmesdale about him knowing he is the father of Pearl, and reveals his true intents. Chillingworth was unable to keep it a secret and consequently, this made Dimmesdale seem even more impressive because he revealed his mistake willingly in an attempt for forgiveness.
The quote; “No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which be the true.” That the author stated during this novel is one that is thoroughly supported by great examples for each Dimmesdale, Hester and Chillingworth. All three of these characters in the book showed two different sides of themselves, which made them all suffer.
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