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Allegory In Scarlet Letter

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Nathaniel Hawthorne creates allegory with his characters in his novel and short stories. The way that Hawthorne creates allegory with his characters us by showing their struggles with morals, their need and misinterpretation of love, and the effects of others opinions. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his characters to symbolize a concrete object which is used to represent something more abstract (Dibble 37.) In the novel The Scarlet Letter we see multiple examples of struggles with morals. Dimmesdale is a prime example of someone who struggles with morals. Hester and Dimmesdale have a romantic relationship despite the fact that Hester was already married. This choice of disregarding morals symbolizes human nature and how we commit sins without …show more content…

“Hester deeply loves Dimmesdale and her fault was that of her passion and her love was stronger than her respect for the New World’s Puritan code of morals” (Dibble 62.) Hester in The Scarlet Letter is seen to be at peace with her sins. Dibble simply states that “her sin was committed out of passion- rather than a sin of intellect” (62.) Yet Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s love could never be simply just as her relationship with Chillingworth couldn’t be. The difference is that Chillingworth married the youthful and passionate Hester not out of love. Chillingworth married her selfishly and left her feeling lonely, while he worked in Amsterdam (Dibble 62.) Dimmesdale loves Hester but, his position of power and the thoughts of others are too important for him to confess it. In Rappaccini’s Daughter it is shown that he greatly loves Beatrice but, as Stallman acclaims he creates “Beatrice to be lovely but, poisonous”. Thus condemning her to forever loneliness and to be forsaken by love. Rappaccini only sees Beatrice’s poisonous nature as a gift of safety, we can almost see the caring and loving attitude that Rappaccini shows as a parent. Giovanni struggles with his unstoppable love of Beatrice even dismissing his warnings and signs of an ominous fate. Beatrice while poisonous was pure, she in the end sacrifices herself for love much like Georgiana in The Birth

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285 Words | 2 Pages

Roger Chillingworth committed the greater sin in the Scarlet Letter. Chillingworth was a malicious man. After the news that Hester had committed adultery, he became more and more like the “Black Man.” He lied about being a doctor and his identity. Additionally, Chillingworth was the overall cause for Dimmesdale’s death, after seven years of torturing his mind.

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1158 Words | 5 Pages

Dimmesdale suffers differently from Hester, because while she “bore it all” to the townspeople (181), his fears forced him to hide his sin, living a life full of “nothing but despair” (177). Hester, though made a social pariah of the town, has a more honest and healthy way of dealing with her sin. Because Hester is forced to face her wrongdoings under the watchful eye of her Puritan neighbors, she did not have the same guilt of secrecy that Dimmesdale did. Dimmesdale, by hiding his sin, allows himself to become a captive to his guilt. The way that Dimmesdale dealt with his guilt was unhealthy for him, both mentally and physically.

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660 Words | 3 Pages

A man named Chillingworth, who claimed to be a doctor, made Dimmesdale feel worse about his secret, Dimmesdale let him get in his head. Reverend Dimmesdale was very weak for being a priest and putting no faith into his God. Reverend Dimmesdale is afraid of his town and his people finding out about his sin. As a priest he wants to seem holy and sinless like the people think him to be, so he hides the fact he and Hester committed adultery. When Hester is on the scaffold, Dimmesdale is asked to try and get Hester to confess who the father is, “If thou feelest it to be for thy soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will be made more

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573 Words | 3 Pages

Dimmesdale is the biggest jerk of The Scarlet Letter. From the beginning of the book, Dimmesdale is a hypocrite. Although it is implied that he preaches against premarital sex as a Puritan pastor, Dimmesdale commits adultery with Hester. After getting Hester pregnant, he avoids visiting Hester and his daughter for seven years.

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517 Words | 3 Pages

The young and beautiful Hester Prynne was once married to a man who had been missing for around three years and committed adultery with another man. Considering the time period this was no small action especially since her unnamed partner is Reverend Dimmesdale and in disguise her long lost husband is actually Roger Chillingworth. Both characters are covering up parts of their life that play a big role in who and why they are for their own individual reasons. Dimmesdale is cowardly covering up his crime in order to protect his holy name as well as himself from the shame and embarrassment that the truth will bring.

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616 Words | 3 Pages

Symbolism Within The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne created symbolism throughout The Scarlet Letter in order to develop the theme throughout Hester’s life. Hester is portrayed as a sheltered soul, shunned from society due to her adulterous acts. The red A and her daughter, Pearl, are symbols of Hester’s shame which she bares proudly despite society's harsh judgements. Hawthorne is able to use symbolism to develop themes, characters, and analogies in the Scarlet Letter.

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830 Words | 4 Pages

Although it is not stated in the text, Dimmesdale, similar to which is further elaborated on by Mary Diorio. She discusses the issues that Dimmesdale faces, such as how being a preacher and a man of God is pulling him down. Diorio demonstrates the challenge Dimmesdale must face, ultimately deciding that “His fear of losing his good reputation is greater than his love for Hester. (Diorio

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354 Words | 2 Pages

Hester makes most of the sin. Hester and Dimmesdale can be compared and contrasted in the way they handled their scarlet letters. While Hester is stubborn, Dimmesdale is extremely cautious. Hester and Dimmesdale both committed a sin and were affected by that sin greatly. Additionally, keeping a secret from others can be a sneaky task and may turn out bad for an individual.

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1270 Words | 6 Pages

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne exposes the blindness of the Puritan people through the treatment of Hester, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale’s external characters. Hester Prynne is labeled as an adulteress and mistreated by society because of their unwillingness to see her true character. Chillingworth, the husband of Hester, leads the town to believe he is an honorable man and skillful doctor, when his true intents root from his vindictive nature Finally, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester’s lover and the father of her baby, acts as the perfect man therefore the town views him as an exemplar model, while he is truly a sinner. In the novel, Hawthorne portrays Hester as a strong, resilient woman, though the members of her community

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878 Words | 4 Pages

Hester’s personality was “warm and rich,” while Dimmesdale was on the brink of insanity, his personality and soul twisted and

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604 Words | 3 Pages

Penance vs. Penitence In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of the hypocrisy of the Puritans in the 1600’s. He expresses the hardships of Hester Prynne and her adulterous lover, Authur Dimmesdale, who is also the town’s preacher. Because Reverend Dimmesdale is a very noble preacher, he has to persist with the guilt of his sin and continue to preach how one should live a holy and pure lifestyle.

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1404 Words | 6 Pages

Because of the effects that Dimmesdale’s sin had on those living in his society, his sin is the greatest of all those presented in the novel, as illustrated by Hawthorne through Dimmesdale’s interactions with others. Because, unlike Hester, Dimmesdale hides his sin from the

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686 Words | 3 Pages

He was the last person that people would think as a sinner. Dimmesdale was sin when he was committed adultery with Hester. He broke the law of church, but he was afraid to face the punishment and indifferent attitude from he masses. As a faithful follower, Dimmesdale also afraid the punishment of God, so he flog himself with a whip. The physical and spiral torture and the control of Chillingworth stranded him in a world that he cannot contact with others.

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550 Words | 3 Pages

In reality, he is the reason for Dimmesdale’s suffering. Chillingworth’s sin causes him to be so obstinate that he One may ask why Hester, Dimmesdale, or society are not worse sinners. When looking at each party’s sin it is easy to see who is the most corrupt. While Hester is unfaithful and Dimmesdale is culpable of living a lie, they both are able to accept their wrongdoing. The society is not guilty for their actions and beliefs as they are a product of their time.

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480 Words | 2 Pages

Dimmesdale sinned with Hester Prynne by committing adultery. Although this was terrible and looked down upon, his crime was self inflicting and done out of passion. After Hester was punished for the crime, Dimmesdale was overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. This showed that Dimmesdale was a good person

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