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Tension Created By Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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One’s obligations to society go hand in hand with the desire to embrace individuality. Such is the case with The Scarlet Letter, a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. The tension is seen in the protagonist of the story, Dimmesdale. His attempts to reconcile with his family are ironic, as Puritans left England in the 1600’s to escape judgment of others. Dimmsdale’s psychological struggle to keep the secret of him being Pearl’s father and maintain public appearance as a well-respected minister in a Puritan society. Throughout the novel it is constantly being conveyed the progression of his desire to confess his sins, and display how this feeling overpowers his inclination to protect his status . Chillingsworth’s character …show more content…

In this section Hester is being faced with public ignominy for committing adultery. After voraciously finding Hester at the market his face “Twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them” (52). The usage of dramatic irony amplifies Dimmesdale’s inner turmoil of his guilt and shame. Where the twisting of his features suggests his emotional and mental pain that he experiences as he hides his sin. He slowly awaits for Hester to reveal his sin, “Speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!” which shows his cowardness and his unwillingness to confess (57). In this moment he acknowledges his guilt and captures the psychological pressure being created by society and moral obligations as a father. After her conviction for not revealing the father’s name Dimmesdale is ecstatic and repeatedly says “She will not speak!” (58). This exemplifies the internal struggle of Dimmesdale to confess his sins coming hand in hand with his duties and reputation as minister. Showing how he is conforming to society’s …show more content…

He wants to be free from the double edged dagger of which he eventually can’t overcome. The use of irony signifies his desire to have change or to be free from his sin, but he never takes action or relies on others to disclose his sin. Hawthorne’s novel indicates how often one wants to take action or make an improvement in their lives, but fear the repercussions or being shamed by society for the sins we have committed. Where the road of redemption is only possible when one is willing to accept the reverberations that come with the mistake they acknowledge. By passing the blame on to others would just make their situation

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(113) “What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him—yea, compel him, as it were—to add hypocrisy to sin?” (62) These passages emphasize the internal conflict within Dimmesdale, he is a man who is desperately trying to hide his sins from the public. The physical description of Dimmesdale emphasizes his physical weakness and fragility, which reflects his moral weakness, linked with his unfaithfulness which brings him to fulfill sinful acts.

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Hester and Dimmesdale have both committed adultery, but Hester accepts and embraces what has happened. Alternatively, for Dimmesdale, enduring seven long years of guilt and sin are required to get him to finally reveal the truth. Taking so many years to do so shows how

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Humans have a tendency to conform and often neglect the potential consequences of doing so. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author introduces those consequences through a respected clergyman and sinner named Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale struggles with his guilty conscience and cowardice to confess his sin which prompts him to abide by societal rules but question himself in private. Dimmesdale’s conflict between outward conformity and inward questioning contributes to the novel’s message that everybody must confront their sins or they will fall victim to some form of retribution.

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In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne tackles the issue of hiding sins by using Dimmesdale and Chillingworth as pawns to portray his view on sinful secrets. Dimmesdale’s main argument relies on divine powers, while Chillingworth focuses on nature in his argument. Dimmesdale argues that sometimes people want to confess their sins, but cannot because they fear they won’t be able to redeem themselves, so instead of confessing, they just leave their secrets for the divine powers to reveal. While Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are talking about the man from the grave, Dimmesdale points out the fact that “‘he earnestly desired [to reveal his sin] but could not’“ (123). He is able to state that so easily because the man he is actually

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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.

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Within the “Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Dimsdale to show how hiding a sin can destroy a person's life . Dimmesdale's character developed dramatically through the 7 year time period. His character traits such as religion pruty, respect ,changes ,and tragic hero transforms throughout the story . Primarily, Dimmesdale’s religion is a main component in his life .He is a minister which automatically grants him to heaven. The fear he has with god keeps him a well grounded person.

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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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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.

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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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In 1964, Lawrence Kohlberg, a psychologist introduced the idea that humans evolved through different stages of morality. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne male characters exemplify a moral development as the story unfolds. In particular, Arthur Dimmesdale’s morality differs from the beginning of the novel to the ending of the novel. His morality undergoes continuity and change by constantly changing from selfishness, social order, and social contract. Dimmesdale undergoes the morality maintaining the social order and being considerate of others to eventually being selfish and only thinks about himself.

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Hester’s personality was “warm and rich,” while Dimmesdale was on the brink of insanity, his personality and soul twisted and

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Nathaniel Hawthorne, a famous American author from the antebellum period, notices the emphasis on individual freedoms in the works by Ralph Waldo Emerson and other Transcendentalists during his residency in the Brook Farm’s community. In response to these ideas, Hawthorne writes The Scarlet Letter, a historical novel about Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s lives as they go through ignominy, penance, and deprecation from their Puritan community to express their strong love for each other. Their love, even though it is true, is not considered as holy nor pure because of Hester past marriage to Roger Chillingworth, and thus Hester gained the Scarlet Letter for being an adulterer. Hawthorne utilizes biblical allusions, such as the stories of

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When Roger Chillingworth sees the ‘A’ on Dimmesdale’s chest, is any “man [had] seen old Roger Chillingworth, at that moment in his ecstasy, he would have had no need to ask how Satan comports himself”(135). Because Dimmesdale sinned against Chillingworth, Chillingworth becomes a shadow of his former self, often compared to a leech that sucks the essence of Dimmesdale. This satanic alteration of Chillingworth is solely due to the act of adultery that Dimmesdale performed, and all of the negative acts of Chillingworth are also traced back to his act of adultery. Because of the alteration of Chillingworth, Dimmesdale’s sin also has negative consequences on the townspeople. In the town, the opinion that Chillingworth was “[either] Satan himself, or Satan’s emissary”(124).

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The narrator portrays him as an intelligent but angry old man that does not have any interest in his wife any longer unless it is plotting revenge. One theme in this chapter is something that can slowly destroy people mentally, guilt. The irony that took place in this story is that Chillingworth is trying to find the father of his wife's child. The main theme in chapter three and four is obeying the law of the people and if failed to be done it will end in punishment. Journal Entry 3: Chapters 5-6 For the rest of Hester’s life she will be forced to wear a red embroidered “A” at all times on her clothes.

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