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How Is Dimmsdale Presented In The Scarlet Letter

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Dimsdale is reluctant to admit his sin because he has the mentality that he can never lose respect from the public however in order to gain redemption for his sins he has to sacrifice his reputation. Dimsdale is one of the main characters in Nathaniel Hawthorn’s “The Scarlet Letter” he is the minister of the puritan community in Boston and everyone in the community looks up to him. Dimsdale is the puritan minister of Boston who has a high reputation who is considered to be an important member of the community. Sin is intolerable within the puritan community and that is why Dimsdale is so conflicted when it comes to confessing his sin since he is a person that everyone looks up to. When Dimmesdale goes to stand on the scaffold in the middle …show more content…

In chapter 11 especially Dimmesdale struggles to come to terms with his sin and it weighs heavily on him but he is still not willing to sacrifice his respect within the community. Dimmesdale struggles to come to terms with his sin because he knows that he will be unable to fully redeem himself if he continues to hide his sin from puritan society but he feels extremely conflicted because he doesn't want to sacrifice his reputation.”They deemed the young clergyman a miracle of holiness. They fancied him the mouth-piece of Heaven’s messages of wisdom, and rebuke, and love. In their eyes, the very ground on which he trod was sanctified”(pg.94). This internal conflict of sin over reputation is a huge burden for him. This desire to have redemption and respect is unattainable but he tries to find a solution by trying to find a way to redeem himself by any other means so he can still keep his respect within the community.“ in order to purify the body, and render it the fitter medium of celestial illumination—but rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance…. he tortured, but could not purify himself” (96). He does this by whipping himself when he is alone but in the end, he still knows that even though he thinks that he brutally punishes himself he still feels the guilt and he knows that he will never have salvation from hs sin unless he confesses his

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By not confessing to adultery, Dimmesdale retains his reputation, but at the cost of his soul. As a religious leader within the Puritan community, Dimmesdale must exhibit a moral example. Internalizing his guilt offers him a method of maintaining that position. Dimmesdale appears as “pure as new-fallen snow,” (84), but still hidden within him is his sin (84).

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