Dimmesdale Vs Prynne

"No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude without finally getting bewildered as to which may be true." Whether it is believable or not, most people have a side of them that they do not let the rest of the world become privy to. Regardless of the type of persona someone is leading their everyday life with, there is always a possibility of one of the sides, or “faces” to be considered taboo in society. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, many of his characters have two sides to them. One of which side is seen by all characters in the book, and another where only a select few get to see the characters’ real identities. For example, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are two main characters that both have two very different sides that they portray.(5)

The minister and Hester both fail to let the rest of the colony know that it was the two together who brought a wicked sin into their Puritan lifestyle. Instead of being honest with himself and everyone around, Dimmesdale and Hester cover up their secret until it is physically impossible for him to resist confessing against the wish of his lover. Living a lifestyle of purity and honesty are both very important throughout Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hawthorne places heavy emphasis on the fact that living a life away from honesty and purity is hard on not only the body, but also the soul, when one is not honest with the mistakes they have made. Hawthorne’s work is proof that such a lifestyle can cause devastating and even fatal effects.