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True Identity In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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In The Scarlet Letter, a very dominant theme is the struggle of true identity. Although, the theme varies for each person; identity either tests them or puts them to shame. For instance, Pearl struggles with identifying herself without knowing who her father is while Dimmesdale struggles with being the minister of the town and the father in hiding. As well as Chillingworth who covers his own identity as Mr. Prynne and struggles with ‘needing’ to know who the real father is just like Pearl. Hester Prynne; however, is a polar opposite by how she accepts and exaggerates who she is for the most part. For example, when she makes her and Pearl’s clothing and accentuates her sin with the A, “Her own dress was of the coarsest materials and the …show more content…

Dimmesdale is the minister of the Puritans which devours him alive because of the shame and guilt of his true identity as Pearl’s father. He is so ruined that his health becomes putrid and he begins to decay in a sense. Hawthorne describes his looks, “...the health of Mr. Dimmesdale had evidently begun to fail…the paleness of the young minister’s cheek was accounted for...his form grew emaciated… his hand over his heart, with first a flush and then a paleness, indicative of pain” (92 Hawthorne). The reverend decays more and more as the guilt of his true identity lingers in his heart. Chillingworth, mostly referred as ‘The Leech’, is in a similar situation where identity tests his well being. Identity destroys Chillingworth’s soul, making him demented and even satanic in a way. His change in demeanor shows in the book, “OLD Roger Chillingworth, throughout life, had been calm in temperament, kindly...then might Roger Chillingworth have passed with them for the arch-fiend, standing there with a smile and scowl to claim his own” (99,120 Hawthorne). Chillingworth becomes so caught up in the identity of the father that the sin destroys his own identity. Altogether, truth of identity destroys Dimmesdale and Chillingworth’s identity.

In conclusion, every character faces conflict with the truth of identity differently because of the various positions the characters are in and the contrasting ways identity is shown or not shown throughout the book. Identity has an important theme by being a constant topic that readers have to go over when evaluating the characters and their emotions. It plays a significant role in The Scarlet Letter and molds the irony of the plot creating the great

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Dimmesdale and Chillingworth both have secrets that make them look and act differently, their secrets affect their character and how they do their job. Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl but he doesn 't want to face the same humiliation as Hester did for his sins. Because of his secret he self punishes and fasts, he also preaches better than he did before although his health is failing. Chillingworth’s secret is that he was the husband of Hester while he was away, before she cheated on him. Chillingworth gets uglier and uglier driven by the need to get revenge on Pearl’s father.

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His persona shifts from a “man of skill, the kind and friendly physician” to a man with “something ugly and evil in his face” (85+). The community believes that Chillingworth is in some form of Satan, and they believe Chillingworth was sent to test Dimmesdale’s faith. Chillingworth sparks an interest in the health of the young Reverend Dimmesdale and fulfills a “new purpose”. Chillingworth

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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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Due to the fact that he restrains his emotions so painstakingly in favor of religion, he frequently refers to himself in a self-deprecating manner when alone and even to the point of inflicting physical pain upon himself as he wallows in his internal guilt of dodging the consequences of his affair with Hester Prynne. After Chillingworth is appointed as Dimmesdale’s medical adviser to observe his declining health, Chillingworth begins to start questioning Dimmesdale as to why he refuses medicine and treatment. Chillingworth then goes on to describe his view of Dimmesdale, as one who “did feel the occasional relief of looking at the universe through the medium of another kind of intellect” (Hawthorne 102), therefore enjoying the freedom to think in other ways apart from the church. Alone, this observation already raises a question of how a minister so religiously inclined could possibly feel trapped within the church’s mindset. It becomes reasonable to consider if Dimmesdale actually knows who he is and if he really feels at ease giving everything to the church along with the burden of a sin hidden from the light of

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