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Reverend Dimmesdale's Secrets In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

279 Words2 Pages
There are many different themes in the early chapters of The Scarlet Letter that support the development of the plot. A main theme found in the novel is that deception and secrecy can be destructive. Hawthorne incorporates several secrets kept for various reasons, and all lead to some form of chaos. One example is the Reverend’s attempt to keep his connection with Pearl a secret, which proves to be a major impediment to his everyday life. Reverend Dimmesdale’s secret is one that becomes destructive in his mental and physical health, his involvement with the church and community, and in his relationships with others. Of all of the issues Dimmesdale faces due to his secret, health takes a significant toll on his body. The reverend attempts
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406 Words | 2 Pages

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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1000 Words | 4 Pages

In the book The scarlet letter , Nathaniel Hawthorne questions the reader by questioning whether it is okay to punish sinners since we all have committed sins. Scarlet letter takes place in massachustes in new england in the time of colonization of the new world.at the time massachustes is very religious and the church has alot of power over the people, they control almost evry aspect of their life and punish thoose who commit sins. Dimmesdale is the head of the church in salem massachusetts and he is defined by how people admired him and how people liked him, this traits affect the theme and other characters in the story because it makes dimmesdale look pure and sin free making people make wrong assumption and decisions when it come to dimmesdale. At the beginning of the book Dimmesdale is liked by his community and is well respected.

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1227 Words | 5 Pages

Dimmesdale’s True Colors Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, also the father of Hester’s child, showed prominent parts of his character throughout the story. The first trait the reader becomes aware of is Dimmesdale’s cowardice. He has no intentions of revealing his sin to the public, due to how highly he is seen in the community’s eyes. Remorse, or guilt, is another term that can be associated with Dimmesdale, growing increasingly more prominent as the novel goes on. Cowardice, a lacking of bravery when facing danger, was a trait that Dimmesdale carried.

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147 Words | 1 Pages

In order to reveal Dimmesdale's sorrowful nature. Hawthorne describes the different actions the poor minister takes in order to attempt to atone for his sins such as “[fasting]” and his use of a “bloody scourge” he genuinely believed that this would help to purify himself of his sins and to relieve the burden that he was forced to bear upon his shoulders, however his attempts to atone ultimately lead to even more torment. Hawthorne discloses this by describing Dimmesdale’s visions of the “herd of diabolic shapes, that grinned and mocked at the pale minister” this further reveals the utter anguish that he is going through another example of this is the vision of his mother “turning her face away as she passed by” the emotional

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319 Words | 2 Pages

causing Dimmesdale to feel terribly ill inside, knowing he is hiding his secret. When Dimmesdale says he is “ill,” it is his soul and emotions that are ill, knowing that he has a huge secret hidden and that the townspeople know, but he does not have a real sickness. Dimmesdale’s greatest fear is what other people’s opinion of him are, causing him to continually be living in fear. The guilt that Dimmesdale encounters is holding him back from letting out his sin because of his fear of what people will think of him.

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463 Words | 2 Pages

The driving maxim of the story, “The Scarlet Letter,” is that recognising and dealing with our weaknesses makes us stronger. Hester Prynne embraces her scarlet letter and her child, the symbols of her sin, and in turn it allows her to grow and be embraced by the townspeople. Reverend Dimmesdale, however, keeps his sin concealed within him, his guilt consumes him and only made him weaken throughout the years to the point of his death. The town as a whole is portrayed to be a negative place, and only becomes better, seeming when they embrace the town adulterer, Hester, not as a sin, but as an able member of the community.

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523 Words | 3 Pages

Many characters from The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, changed throughout the progression of the novel, — including Chillingworth, Hester, and even Pearl herself. No character, however, has changed as much as Dimmesdale has. Towards the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale tries to ignore his sinful actions. Near the middle of the book, the clergyman, with the ‘help’ of Chillingworth, is able to realize his wrongdoings, and starts obsessively thinking of those wrongdoings. Around the end of the novel, with the help of the forest’s freedom, is able to finally repent correctly for his sin.

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655 Words | 3 Pages

The Scarlet Letter’s Development The Scarlet Letter is written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and has many different central ideas. Some of those central ideas are hypocrisy, sin, revenge, guilt, and conformity. Dimmesdale, the town being full of hypocritical individuals, and Dimmesdale committing adultery to reveal how Dimmesdale has to conform to how the town sees him, while the guilt is ruining his health. Hawthorne conveys the central idea that sin creates guilt, which creates secrets and conformity by Dimmesdale being a minister who has committed adultery and will not confess that he did.

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166 Words | 1 Pages

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a young woman named Hester Prynne moves to Boston, Massachusetts while her husband takes care of affairs back home in England. After about two years’ time she partakes in an affair with the town’s reverend, Arthur Dimmesdale, whom remains her unidentified lover. Soon after the affair she becomes pregnant and gives birth to her daughter, Pearl. The town becomes suspicious of the pregnancy, knowing the insemination occurred after she had come to Boston and the Puritan town accuses her of adultery. As punishment she is sentenced to stand on the town scaffold while wearing a scarlet letter “A” on her bosom, which she must now wear for the remainder of her life as a reminder of her sin.

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1338 Words | 6 Pages

The adoration for the young minister is conveyed in a scene wherein Dimmesdale encounters a young woman while walking through town. In the scene, Hawthorne reveals, “The minister knew she had enshrined him in her heart, where she hung pure white curtains around his image—giving religion the warmth of love, and love the purity of religion” () While one could argue that this view of Dimmesdale is evidence that revealing sin is not

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287 Words | 2 Pages

When a physician tries to help the minister overcome his sickness and redeem his health, Dimmesdale says “I need no medicine” implying that he has not a physical disease but a moral one (81). Dimmesdale’s young “diseased” body does not cause him heartache and pain, but rather his conscience. The minister’s moral suffrage existed in many part of Hawthorne’s novel,

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878 Words | 4 Pages

The book “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a complex novel that has underlying themes of sin and the responsibility for sin. The novel takes place in a Puritanical society, but two people, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, fornicate with each other, even though Hester is married to someone else. Only Hester is punished, so Dimmesdale keeps his guilt inside, not revealing it to anyone. Hester’s husband, Chillingworth, then proceeds to ruin Hester’s partner in crime, corrupting his soul and being the ultimate cause for his death. Hester, on the other hand, leads a relatively happy life after she had repented for her sin.

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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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570 Words | 3 Pages

The definition of guilt is defined as a feeling you have done wrong or failed an obligation, now imagine feeling that way for seven years. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne one of the main characters sits on secrets, lies and sins for almost a decade. Arthur Dimmesdale lives with a guilty conscience for not taking responsibility for his actions. He watches the woman he loves become outcasted by society and permanently branded. Dimmesdale’s health takes a turn for the worst, which puts him at death’s door for most of the novel.

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1404 Words | 6 Pages

When encountered with a woman charged with adultery, Jesus proclaimed, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). As no man is truly without sin, humans cannot justly punish them for sins without holy guidance. They can, however, worsen their own sin to the point of being irredeemable. in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale’s sin was the most unholy and dangerous of all those presented in the novel.

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