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Dimmesdale's Guilt

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Born in 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne was a relative of John Hathorne. Originally his last name was Hathorne but since his relative John Hathorne was the only person from the Salem Witch Trials who did not repent of his actions, Hawthorne didn’t want to be tied directly to his relative and so he changed his name to Hawthorne. In 1850, Hawthorne published The Scarlet Letter, which he wrote to show his hatred towards the Puritans and their beliefs. In The Scarlet Letter guilt is the number one psychological idea shown. Nathaniel Hawthorne explains the psychological effects of guilt in The Scarlet Letter through the use of characters, settings, and symbols. The one character effect by guilt, the most, is Dimmesdale. This guilt is shown all throughout …show more content…

The first scene is in chapter nine when all the characters in the book start to notice how Dimmesdale is always clutching his heart. At this point the characters do not know the true reason for this action but it is recurring enough to notice. Dimmesdale is clutching his heart because he feels a great deal of guilt which is causing him physical and emotional pain. This scene is symbolized by his hand over his heart, because the guilt that Dimmesdale causes a great deal of pain in his heart. “But how could the young minister say so, when, with every successive Sabbath, his cheek was paler and thinner, and his voice more tremulous than before - when it had now become a constant habit, rather than a casual gesture, to press his hand over his …show more content…

Alongside Dimmesdale is Pearl and Hester all holding hands and talking. While on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl a meteor flies through the sky in which Dimmesdale believes is an “A” that is meant for him. Others believe that the “A” represents angel for the one who has just passed away but Dimmesdale believes that it was meant for him. This scene is symbolized by the “A” in the sky, because of that “A” that passed by Dimmesdale his guilt has grown even stronger. “So vivid was the expression, or so intense the minister’s perception of it, that it seemed still to remain painted on the darkness after the meteor had vanished, with an effect as is the street and all things else were at once

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Several days later, Hester meets Dimmesdale in the forest, where she removes the scarlet letter from her dress and identifies her husband and his desire for revenge. In this conversation, she convinces Dimmesdale to leave Boston in secret on a ship to Europe where they can start life anew. Renewed by this plan, the minister seems to gain new energy. Pearl, however, refuses to acknowledge either of them until Hester replaces her symbol of shame on her

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“Why, then, had he come hither? Was it but the mockery of penitence? A mockery, indeed, but in which his soul trifled with itself. He had been driven higher by the impulse of that Remorse which dogged him everywhere” (Hawthorne 138) here dimmesdale can 't face the justice of what he has done wrong which is why the author called him a coward and is the reason why he kept his secrets because he is a coward to admit it to and face the consequences which is why later the guilt of keeping them eats him from the inside.

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