Hester went to plead that the officials of the town leave Pearl in her care and not take her away to be raised by any one else. When it seems that Hester is losing this battle she asks Dimmesdale to speak in her defense which he does quite passionately. This desire to protect the mother and daughter bond of Hester and Pearl is what seems to draw Pearl to approach Dimmesdale and take “his hand in the grasp of both her own…” and lay “her cheek against it; a caress so tender…” (The Scarlet Letter, Chapter VIII) Dimmesdale’s defense and Pearl’s reaction are two cues that lead the reader to begin seeing the truth of who Pearl’s father
Dimmesdale’s True Colors Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, also the father of Hester’s child, showed prominent parts of his character throughout the story. The first trait the reader becomes aware of is Dimmesdale’s cowardice. He has no intentions of revealing his sin to the public, due to how highly he is seen in the community’s eyes. Remorse, or guilt, is another term that can be associated with Dimmesdale, growing increasingly more prominent as the novel goes on. Cowardice, a lacking of bravery when facing danger, was a trait that Dimmesdale carried.
Arezu Lotfi Mr. Burd, Block A American Lit 11 November, 2015 Fight or Flight With the inner struggle of guilt, a person can either be redeemed or destroyed. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hester Prynne is ridiculed publicly by the Puritan community for adultery. Mr. Dimmesdale, the man Hester cheats with is a young minister in the town, and hides his sin from the community. Together the two have a daughter named Pearl, that Hester raises.
Throughout the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne illustrates the Puritan community as judgemental. Naturally, humans attempt to hide their mistakes and imperfections from the world. The protagonists of the story battle with concealing their feelings of shame from the town. Hawthorne shows that self-isolation will inevitably lead to the destruction of one’s character, suggesting that those who admit to their sins are able to thrive. He accomplishes this by contrasting character changes between Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and Hester Prynne.
By Dimmesdale's hand always on his chest, everyone makes the connection that he is the father of Pearl because of the Scarlet Letter on Hester’s
The biggest question asked in the novel The Scarlet Letter, who commits the greatest sin-Hester, Dimmesdale, or Chillingworth? Is it the woman who let herself get swept away by the emotional grip of romance? Is it the man who takes advantage of a woman he was not betrothed to? Or is it the man who was pursued by evil to destroy something that could have been? Taking advantage of someone who is not yours is the worst sin a person can do to someone. So in my case, I choose Dimmesdale to expose.
In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne makes it evidently clear that the Minister, Dimmesdale, is the father of Hester Prynne's illegitimate child, Pearl. With a series of increasingly elevated indications of his fathership, Hawthorne is able to foreshadow Dimmesdale’s role in the adultery that causes Hester to live her life in solitude. As the novel entails, Hawthorne introduces Dimmesdale to readers in The Recognition, which is a slight giveaway in itself. Yet, Hawthorne describes Dimmesdale so meticulously, unlike many of the other characters, which consequently gives off that he must be a very important character in the novel.
Dimmesdale, knowing that he is the father of Pearl, keeps it a secret for a very long time. Dimmesdale had burned an “A” on his chest. In the book he states “At last… I stand upon where, seven years since, I should have stood; here, with this woman, whose arm… sustains me, at this dreadful moment, from grovelling down upon my face! Lo, the scarlet letter which Hester wears! … it hath cast a lurid gleam of awe and horrible repugnance round about her.
Many characters from The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, changed throughout the progression of the novel, — including Chillingworth, Hester, and even Pearl herself. No character, however, has changed as much as Dimmesdale has. Towards the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale tries to ignore his sinful actions. Near the middle of the book, the clergyman, with the ‘help’ of Chillingworth, is able to realize his wrongdoings, and starts obsessively thinking of those wrongdoings. Around the end of the novel, with the help of the forest’s freedom, is able to finally repent correctly for his sin.
ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/other-sources/nathaniel-hawthornes-scarlet-letter/docview/2249948283/se-2. Ruetenik, T.J. “Another View of Arthur Dimmesdale: Scapegoating and Revelation in ‘The Scarlet Letter.’” Contagion: Journal of Violence, Mimesis, and Culture, vol. 19, 2012, pp. 113-122. 69–86.
In 1964, Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist introduced the idea that humans evolved through different stages of morality. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne male characters exemplify a moral development as the story unfolds. In particular, Arthur Dimmesdale’s morality differs from the beginning of the novel to the ending of the novel. His morality undergoes continuity and change by constantly changing from selfishness, social order, and social contract. Dimmesdale undergoes the morality maintaining the social order and being considerate of others to eventually being selfish and only thinks about himself.
At the end of the novel Arthur Dimmesdale could rest on peace. The guilt makes him sick and becoming crazy with the help of Roger Chillingworth that psychologically torture Arthur. At the end Mr.Dimmesdale accomplish get rid of the guilt by confessing the truth. When he confesses it, Pearl gave him a kiss and at he said to Hester that God made the things for something and if it were not for God, he would be lost. Mr.Dimmesdale was dying, but he knows that he was not going to die in peace until he confessed, so he decided to leave the fear and cowardice on a side that held him, and stood on the scaffold to tell everybody that he was the father of Pearl.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a book filled with romance, surprises, and second chances. Arthur Dimmesdale is a reverend, Reverend Wilson’s younger brother. Arthur’s greatest sin, committing adultery with Hester Prynne, will come to haunt him and lead to his eventual, though untimely, death. Reverend Wilson, along with Arthur’s other parishioners, think that he is a saint (or something close to it). Later on, the author uses this to accentuate his greatest flaw, cowardice, when Dimmesdale tries to tell his congregation of his great sin, when Roger Chillingworth asks Dimmesdale to reveal his secret so that he can better treat his illness, and when he meets Hester in the forest.
Aiden Christianson Pugmire/Maack 11th Grade ELA 1/10/2023 Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter” is a novel talking about the puritan lifestyle, and how seriously they took their society. This story delves into themes of “hypocrisy” and “sin”, the biggest offender being Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is the biggest hypocrite in this story, he committed adultery alongside Hester, but he stayed anonymous, keeping his job as the Puritan minister. He kept preaching about Puritan beliefs even though he himself was a sinner.
Paris Rosales Tash 10255 12/8/15 Reality TV Millions of people watch reality tv nowadays, it's a pretty unanimous agreement that Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, and Nicki Minaj are the current reigning queens of pop culture. however it’s a pretty divided opinion on if reality TV is a good thing or a bad thing. Is it influencing our society to be petty?
