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Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The Scarlet Letter Character Analysis- Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale is known as a man of mystery. He is the town’s almighty preacher that guides them in paths of righteousness. But he is merely a man of God, although that’s how the people of Boston, Massachusetts perceive him. Throughout the book, Dimmesdale’s struggles with his sin, guilt, and hypocrisy are seen. Dimmesdale’s character is developed through his actions and the way other characters view him. He is the quintessential archetype of the sinner that conceives his own grievous downfall. Arthur Dimmesdale is best known for his hypocrisy in the novel. He is Boston’s most beloved reverend. But the public fails to see that he commits adultery with Hester Prynne. While Hester is publicly shammed and forced to wear a scarlet “A,” Dimmesdale remains silent about his transgressions. Because he is a public figure, he believes he should stay quiet for the sake of the people. His guilt is …show more content…

But through his suffering, he becomes a more relatable preacher. He inevitably gives more palpable sermons and is able to lead his congregation more deliberately. Chillingsworth illustrates the idea that Dimmesdale is still an exceptional man and preacher by telling Hester, “My finger, point[ing] at this man, would [hurl] him from his pulpit into a dungeon. . .” (167). Chillingsworth prefers physiologically torturing Dimmesdale rather than taking away his respected position in the church. Dimmesdale knows that his sin is out of love, and he justifies it by saying, “. . . That old man’s [Chillingsworth] sin [is] blacker than my sin. He [is violating] the sanctity of a human heart. . .” (191). Chillingsworth is putting Dimmesdale through great mental and physical travails for revenge while Dimmesdale’s sin is for his love of Hester and he is now doing everything he can to get back in God’s good

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1158 Words | 5 Pages

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commits a mortal sin by having an affair with a married woman, Hester Prynne. As a man of the cloth in Puritan society, Dimmesdale is expected to be the embodiment of the town’s values. He becomes captive to a self-imposed guilt that manifests from affair and his fear that he won’t meet the town’s high expectations of him. In an attempt to mitigate this guilt, Dimmesdale acts “piously” and accepts Chillingworth’s torture, causing him to suffer privately, unlike Hester who repented in the eyes of the townspeople. When Dimmesdale finally reveals his sin to the townspeople, he is able to free himself from his guilt.

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1464 Words | 6 Pages

Dimmesdale’s guilt from the sin he executed, is not known to anyone besides, Roger Chillingworth and Hester. He is in panic and terror at all moments that the Puritans will discover the sin he has done. Being in such an important position in the Puritan lifestyle, as a minister, he knows the consequences for which his sin will make if publicized. He tries multiple methods to try and rid himself of the guilt. Whenever he feels threatened by the guilt he places “His hand upon his heart,” (65).

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612 Words | 3 Pages

The reader is especially made aware of Dimmesdale's mental state in the eleventh chapter, “His inward trouble drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome, than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred” [150]. This suggests that he is racked with immense guilt and shame at the falsehood he is living and suggests that he is physically abusing himself as a result of this guilt. This directly contradicts Chillingworth's mental state of fury and vengeance that he falls deeper into as the story progresses. These two characters also hold striking incongruities as to what drives them onward as the account

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727 Words | 3 Pages

Dimmesdale truthfully wants and feels the need to reveal his sins, however because he is afraid of the backlash, he cannot. Afterwards he goes on to argue how there is “ ‘no power short of the Divine mercy’ “ that could reveal the secrets hidden in someone’s heart (123). Due to Dimmesdale’s profession of ministry he believes that divine powers are the only ones who can reveal secrets. The Divine mercy is this higher power that nothing can compare to, and its power is so immense that it is the only way to get a secret revealed from someone's heart. Dimmesdale also tells Chillingworth that many men may choose not to confess their sins because they don’t want to be “ ‘displaying themselves black and filthy’ “ (124) as in Puritan society, many things were considered sins, and sinning was the worst thing that could possibly be done.

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741 Words | 3 Pages

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).

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555 Words | 3 Pages

Dimmesdale's guilt overtakes him. With the stress from the congregation viewing him as someone who is "holier-than-thou", and Mr. Chillingworth bating him, he becomes conflicted with his feelings of sinfulness and feels the need to keep this a secret from the congregation. The more his guilt overtakes him, the better his sermons got. Because he is so overwhelmed with remorse and shame his sermons have become famous. he connects more with the audience because he believes that he is more sinful than they are.

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Erin Joel Mrs. Janosy English 2H P 5 22 October 2015 Quote Explication Dimmesdale is trying to overcome a conflict within his own soul, defying his own religion, and choosing to do wrong by keeping his sin to himself. In a theocracy type community like Dimmesdale's, God is known as the supreme civil ruler, and a crime would be known as a sin. On the other hand, Hester’s sin was made known to the public, receiving the public shame and ridicule she deserved. During the duration of time when the public knew Dimmesdale was hiding his sin, “the agony with which this public tortured him” (Hawthorne 119).

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516 Words | 3 Pages

Arthur Dimmesdale was the town minister in The Scarlet Letter, a story of a young woman who committed adultery and faced the consequences, such as wearing a scarlet “A” on her chest. Dimmesdale was a very interesting character because he was very religious but also committed a sin that haunted him everyday. He also happened to be the man who was involved in the young woman’s adultery. He was never convicted, however he still faced the consequences everyday. Dimmesdale was a man of God.

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523 Words | 3 Pages

Dimmesdale starts living with Chillingworth so the doctor can keep the feeble minister ‘healthy’; the doctor, reversely, tries to make Dimmesdale feel conflicted about his morals which leads to Dimmesdale obsessively whipping himself “...on his own shoulders” and“... fast[ing]...in order to purify [his] body… rigorously...until his knees trembled beneath him[self]...” (132). He is enveloped in his sin, and cannot escape it unless he tells the truth. In fact, Dimmesdale could not stop thinking about his sin which “...continued to give Mr. Dimmesdale a real existence [which] was the anguish in his inmost soul” (133).

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978 Words | 4 Pages

This remark implies that Dimmesdale’s morality revolves around his self-conscience and what is right and wrong in the eyes of society and his social status as a clergymen. He demands Hester to exploit him for his actions in taking part of the adultery scenario with Hester. With respect to Kohlberg’s level of moral reasoning, he is at stage 4 “Maintaining the Social Order” for risking his entire reputation as a respected man in society over the action of one sin. Then, in Chapter 10 by now most of the Puritan society built suspicion of Chillingworth as a devil seeking to take ill Dimmesdale's soul. Since Chillingworth was first seen god like for his knowledge in medical care, he was truly valued by the Puritan society.

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445 Words | 2 Pages

Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister, a clergyman had committed the horrid sin of adultery, the same sin as Hester. Dimmesdale’s holy affiliation gave him a kind and pure disposition and this was solidified by his dimwittedness, making him seem almost childlike. By having a character with these qualities, Hawthorne contradicts the stereotype he has set up by having Dimmesdale be “unworth... [y] to [complete his] humblest mission” (71), a quality virtually unheard of among ministers. The author then has Dimmesdale confess his “sin so awfully revealed!”(211) in order for both Hester and Dimmesdale to redeem themselves of sin and restore the goodness.

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878 Words | 4 Pages

Hester and Dimmesdale each are equivalent in the sin that they commit, but their lives and fates are different because Hester had to repent for her crimes while Dimmesdale bottled up his guilt inside. The indirect result of Dimmesdale’s concealment of the truth was Chillingworth’s torture, which played a large role in Dimmesdale’s untimely death. Chillingworth snapped when Hester did not reveal Dimmesdale’s crimes. Hester, in part, helped Dimmesdale in

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389 Words | 2 Pages

Reverend Dimmesdale committed the sin of adultery and in doing so, he fell victim to the moral consequences that resulted. Pearl observed that “. . . the minister keeps his hand over his heart. . .” (Hawthorne 163). Overtime, he began to appear pale and sickly.

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604 Words | 3 Pages

Penance vs. Penitence In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes of the hypocrisy of the Puritans in the 1600’s. He expresses the hardships of Hester Prynne and her adulterous lover, Authur Dimmesdale, who is also the town’s preacher. Because Reverend Dimmesdale is a very noble preacher, he has to persist with the guilt of his sin and continue to preach how one should live a holy and pure lifestyle.

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480 Words | 2 Pages

The Scarlet Letter Essay Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale were two of the main sinners in The Scarlet Letter. Both characters kept their sins secrete throughout the story. These sins included adultery, revenge, and even murder. Out of the two sinners, Chillingworth was the worst, because he never felt guilt for the terrible things he was doing. Dimmesdale spent his entire life in guilt and remorse for the sins he had committed (“Who”).

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