How Did Arthur Dimmesdale Believe In The Scarlet Letter

One spontaneous but significant mistake made by Arther Dimmesdale caused him to live the rest of his life crawling with guilt. Arthur Dimmesdale, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, had an affair with a married woman, and that crime ruined the lives of almost everyone in the novel. The Scarlet Letter remains a classic to this day because it emphasizes harsh penance which highlights the difference between the treatment of sinners today and those during the 17th century. The way Puritans view sin and guilt cause Dimmesdale’s life to come to an unfortunate end. Puritans believe in harshly disciplining sinners and criminals, which inspired ever-growing fear in Dimmesdale. Presently, adultery is not considered illegal, but in the 1600s

First of all, the townspeople believe that Dimmesdale is unquestionably sublime. Everything he declares appears to make them revere him greater than before, and nothing he says changes their mind. Even when Dimmesdale announces that he is “the greatest sinner among you,” the townspeople suppose he is acting humble. Also, keeping a secret from the townspeople leaves him feeling more guilty with every passing day. He admits that there remains a “contrast between what I seem and what I am.” This refers to Dimmesdale’s beliefs that the townspeople honor him only because he keeps secrets from them. Lastly, his guilt from misleading the townspeople tempts him to announce his crime. However, Dimmesdale cannot explain to them his misdeed, or he will lose everything he has, including his reputation. Lastly, when Hester and he congregate in the woods, she suggests that he takes comfort in the people’s reverence of him. However, he answers that it brings him “only the more misery.” Because Dimmesdale fears letting the townspeople down, his guilt festers with the their admiration of

For example, when Hester finally disclosed that Dimmesdale’s enemy lives with him, he refrained from revealing Chillingworth’s identity. Releasing that information allures him, but he hid his identity because Chillingworth would have turned him in as a result. Secondly, Dimmesdale decides to disclose his secret to the town one night. Yet, instead of waiting until the next morning when the everybody would notice, he scampered to the scaffold in the dead of night. If he truly intended to undertake the confession, the following morning prevails as the most appropriate choice. Instead, he climbed on the scaffold immediately in an attempt for instant relief from his persistent guilt. His plea for instant relief manifested itself in the release of “an outcry that went pealing through the night.” Finally, when Dimmesdale receives a chance to be free once and for all, he abolishes it as well as all hope of freedom from his chains of guilt. On Reverend Wilson’s way home from Governor Winthrop’s deathbed, he treads right past the scaffold upon which Dimmesdale stands. Unsurprisingly, he did not speak a word to expose his position, and Dimmesdale remained anonymous in the most public location in town. He indicates throughout the novel that he wants to confess; however, his actions insinuate otherwise. Dimmesdale would rather struggle with his guilt than risk losing his