In the first scaffold scene Dimmesdale is aware of his guilt and hypocrisy when he questions Hester but is too cowardly to confess his sin. Hester, while holding her child, stands in front of the public on the scaffold enduring humiliation and trial from the authorities of the town, in which they insist upon her to reveal the child’s father. Even Dimmesdale, as one of the authorities, says to her, “what can thy silence do for him, except… to add hypocrisy to sin?” However, she is unwilling to speak his name. Dimmesdale acts with great dishonesty and cowardice, deceiving the public into believing that he is not in the wrong - that he is a wise and benevolent pastor. He allows Hester to suffer the pain and humiliation alone. With this first stage of guilt, Dimmesdale only falls deeper into the sin he has committed.…
Dimmesdale inhabits the shame brought on by religiosity. After sinning twice, first the adultery he commit with Hester and second by lying and hiding the first, Dimmesdale wallows in his own guilt. He begins to have visions of Hester and Pearl pointing out his guilt and of members of the community mocking him. He wishes to stand with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold. He wishes to tell his congregation, "to speak out, from his own pulpit, at the full height of his voice, and tell the people what he was" (125), but he hides this and the guilt gnaws at him. It gnaws at him until…
Arthur Dimmesdale, or better yet, Pearl’s father, is a dynamic character. The minister undergoes an exploration of guilt, love, violence and remorse during the pages of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. During each scene new information is unveiled to reveal the true characteristics of the Hill’s beloved Reverend.…
The scaffold was the only place where Dimmesdale could go to and apologize for his sin, guilt and escape his persecutor's commands. Dimmesdale committed a sin that was frowned upon by god but convinced himself that not confessing his sin was protecting the townspeople. Hester had countless opportunities to name her fellow sinner but she choose not to.…
Dimmesdale’s main complication is that he cannot tell anyone of his sin. As Edward Wagenknecht explained it in his article “Characters in The Scarlet Letter” , that Dimmesdale cannot tell…
The end of the race draws near, the racers spot the finish line and use their last burst of energy to make it to the end. In the third scaffold scene Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl are shown together. The end is nigh. Dimmesdale has a sudden burst of energy as he realizes the comfort he will gain after confessing his sins. This scene is the redemption, the end of humiliation for all three of them. The whole town witnesses the repentance and death of Dimmesdale, who was loved dearly by Hester and Pearl. Some of the town swears to have seen the scarlet letter A on Dimmesdale's breast, but others claim not to have seen anything. The third scaffold scene raps up the race.…
Early in the novel, when Hester was shamed upon the scaffolding, "that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, [took] it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have came upon his congregation" (Hawthorne 38). Instead of being upon the scaffolding with his lover, Dimmesdale allows his cowardliness to let Hester to take publicity for the sin, while he is portrayed to be shocked that such actions could have taken place in his…
In the first scaffold scene, Hester is holding her daughter Pearl in her arms. Hester has committed adultery and must stand on the scaffold for three hours to endure her punishment. She is placed with the scarlet letter “A” on her bosom so that people of the Puritan community know what she has done. Hester tries to hide the letter “A” by moving Pearl to cover it up, but decides to suffer trying to keep her dignity. The townspeople mock Hester, and she is scrutinized for the sin she has committed. While Hester and Pearl are on the scaffold, Arthur Dimmesdale and the other leaders of the community are watching from the side. Hester sees her husband Chillingsworth in the crowd, and as he realizes this, he puts his finger over his lips to tell Hester not to reveal who he is.…
Everyone in their life goes through guilt and regret, and may have things in common with Dimmesdale. In the excerpt The Characters Reveal the Story’s Meaning from Hawthorne: A Critical Study by Hyatt H. Waggoner, he states “He first descends from his original position as the saintly guide and inspiration of the novel as very nearly the worst of the sinners in his hypocrisy and cowardice.” (Waggoner 74). Readers can learn from Dimmesdale in many ways. From reading the novel, they can see how much damage regret and guilt causes. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne states the moral of the story, “Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!” (Hawthorne 286). This quote tells you to be true to yourself and be you. Dimmesdale is a perfect example of this, because he wasn’t true to himself and ended up paying a huge price for his guilt. Everyone knows that lying is a sin, and can have major consequences. Even if you tell your secret, you can still feel guilt after the fact. Dimmesdale is a very relatable character, and readers can understand him the most, as well as learn from him throughout the…
Dimmesdale does not realize the life of hypocrisy he will come to live as a result of his and Hester's sin. More than once he resolved to confess his hypocrisy and take his place beside Hester, but he is too afraid of the shame open confession would bring. In spite of this, Dimmesdale does not confess his sin to the public. This is hypocritical of Dimmesdale because a "true priest" would not hide his sin from his congregation. Also, his sermons revolve around Hester's sin, which just happens to be a sin he also committed. Dimmesdale says he loves Hester but yet he refuses to climb the scaffold with Hester to reveal the truth. He keeps away from Hester and does not associate himself with her. Hester tells Pearl "[Dimmesdale] will be [at the scaffold], child. But he will not greet thee today" meaning that she believes that one day Dimmesdale will finally admit to the public that he is the father to Pearl and the man with whom Hester committed adultery…
When Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold before the crowd he states, “‘God… is merciful!’” peaking his audience’s interest further, he decrees that God is “bringing [him] hither, to die this death of triumphant ignominy." and thus with immeasurable pain and remorse “[his] final word came forth with [his] expiring breath” (P.179).When Prynne stands on the scaffold with nothing but infant Pearl, Dimmesdale badgers her to reveal the father, she replies with, “I will not speak!” (P.47). Prynne refuses to speak and faces ridicule before the entire town. As the lowly Dimmesdale will not reveal himself, in cowardice, Prynne will not reveal him, in bravery. Standing strong in every moment of their painful seven years, Prynne makes Dimmesdale pitiful in comparison to her.…
Dimmesdale experiences a worse outcome. One day, Hester and Dimmesdale meet in a forest. Hester wants him to forget about his sin and move on. However, he hesitates to do so because he is the one who holds his people and honors God. Eventually, after his speech on Election Day, he confesses. He stands on the scaffold with Hester and his daughter, Pearl. Now, everyone sees the scarlet letter on the Reverend’s chest. Then, he dies on the scaffold. This is a tragic consequence of the sin. Although it can be thought that Dimmesdale doesn’t get much pain, he is fighting with himself inside him(“What”). On the other hand, after several years, Hester leaves and returns to Boston alone. Hester lives in a small cottage and is still isolated from the society. However, she continues her needlework. She works hard and tries to contribute to her society. At last, she begins to be accepted and known as a hard worker. This is when her letter A changes its meaning. At first, the scarlet letter A means adultery. Later, it becomes a symbol of able. After many years, Hester dies and is buried next to Dimmesdale, sharing a scarlet A. Hester and Dimmesdale have very different outcomes. Though Hester is publicly known for her sin, she accepts it and moves on. She works hard with her job and is always brave. On the other hand, Dimmesdale keeps everything in himself and ends up dying…
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is set in a gloomy, distressed, religious atmosphere in Boston, Massachusetts with multiple main characters known for the sins they have done. One of those being a man named Arthur Dimmesdale, who is known for being a sinful and hypocritical individual. He is part of the Puritan community who are very judgmental people, which sets up the perfect situation for confrontations. Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates his theme that secrets that are hidden will have its consequences. Dimmesdale is very conflicted with himself and also with the community; he struggles with doing the what is right.…
Firstly, the main character Hester Prynne was caught in the act of adultery, and produced a child from it, which she named Pearl. The father of said child is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Throughout the book, Dimmesdale’s relationship with Hester was kept under secret but discreetly implied within the text. During the time…
“The Scarlet Letter” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is based off the early colonial age of New England, where religion played a huge role in shaping society and life. Throughout the book, sin was a constant factor that plays a role in Reverend Dimmesdale’s life. Committing one of the unforgivable sins, adultery, with Hester, he lets his guilt control his life. However, it is better that Dimmesdale doesn’t confess his sin because it leads to Dimmesdale having greater influence over the community, and it helps him understand who he is in the process.…