Scarlet Letter Quotes

Cartoonist and aAuthor of Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson once said, “The problem with people is they’re only human.” This quote explains in a succinct manner that as humans, we are bound to make mistakes because of our human nature. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister revered by the Puritan community, is faced with a large predicament caused by his human nature. In the novel, Hester Prynne is punished brutally for committing adultery. Little do they know, Arthur Dimmesdale is the other one who was involved in the act. Throughout the book, he feels extremely guilty not just for his own sake of being dishonest with the whole Puritan community but also for having Hester carry the weight of a sin

Ease into it and introduce the first subtopic you want to present to the reader] Hawthorne remarks, “Here, there was the talent of the deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life” (Hawthorne 39), describing Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s act of adultery. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester is tormented for this act in various ways throughout. However, the reader may ask the question, “What about Dimmesdale?”. Dimmesdale is considered “a learned and pious minister of the word” (Hawthorne 165) by the puritan community throughout the vast majority of this book. He, nevertheless, committed adultery with Hester and is therefore, as sinful as Hester in this situation. Through his human tendencies, Dimmesdale caused Hester to have Pearl, a daughter that was considered “freakish” and “elvish” (Hawthorne 66) by the Puritan people. Hawthorne agrees when he writes, “It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child and had just then peeped forth in mockery.” (Hawthorne 66) Through this quote, the author implies that Dimmesdale and Hester should not have committed adultery in the first

Before he dies,When he’s about to die, Dimmesdale proclaims, “Ye, that have loved me! -- ye, that have deemed me holy! -- behold me here, the one sinner of the world! At last! -- At last!” (Hawthorne 174). After confessing his sins to the Puritan community, Dimmesdale’s feeling of guilt is finally relieved feels much better, and because of the power he gained through his sermons, he is thought of as a hero. The quote is included by Hawthorne to convey to the reader that we, as humans are all sinners., We and we must strive to be honest about what we have done wrong and strive to accept other people’s wrongdoings in a kind manner. According to Hawthorne, “It is inconceivable, the agony of which the public veneration tortured him” (Hawthorne 98). This torture was not literal. Rather, it was the guilt that built up inside him for not confessing to the Puritan people. Therefore, it is important for one to be honest of his/her wrongdoings, so that they don’t have to agonize over