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Who Is Dimmesdale's Guilt In The Scarlet Letter

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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter followed the lives of Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Their daughter Pearl represented the guilt and gifts brought upon them during their time together in Boston. Hester and Dimmesdale’s sinful actions resulted in the birth of Pearl. In the beginning of the story, the Bostonians condemned Hester for committing adultery. To protect Dimmesdale from public humiliation and the torture of Roger Chillingworth, she refused to reveal that Dimmesdale was the biological father of Pearl. As the story progressed, Dimmesdale’s guilt increased. Due to his respected reputation as a reverend, he initially refused to admit his sin to the public. He could not be associated with Pearl, which the Bostonians …show more content…

In fact, when he ventures his way from the forest to the town, he attempts to stay away from the people that ask for his wisdom because he knew that he could accidentally corrupt them. All of these events were rooted from the simple action of producing the illegitimate child of Hester, Pearl. The birth of Pearl brought two motivations to Hester and Dimmesdale. Hester is motivated to live for Pearl. Throughout the first half of the story, Hester often considered to flee from Boston and return to “Old England.” However, she did not want to leave Pearl and Dimmesdale behind; Dimmesdale would have been tortured by Chillingworth, and Pearl would have been tortured by the church’s insistence that she was created by the devil. As a result, she took shelter in a Bostonian cottage and lived with Pearl and near Dimmesdale. Whenever Pearl got herself into trouble, Hester and Dimmesdale protected her. For example, when Reverend Wilson concluded that Pearl was a child from the devil, Hester came to her defense, claiming that “God gave [her] the child” and “Pearl keeps me here in life!” (Ch8) Dimmesdale supported Hester’s claim, saying that “it was meant for a blessing— for the one blessing of her life!” While Pearl seemed to be a torture and pain to the couple, she was actually a gift “from the hand of God, to work in many ways upon her heart, who pleads so earnestly and with such bitterness

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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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185 Words | 1 Pages

The group of men that entered the room included Bellingham, Wilson, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale. As soon as they entered, they were being rude to Pearl by calling her a demon child. The men ask Hester why she should be allowed to keep Pearl and she responds by saying Pearl teaches her an important lesson about her shame. In order for the men to come to a better conclusion about what to do with Pearl and Hester, they quiz Pearl about religious topics. However, she barely responds and seems to dislike the men.

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765 Words | 4 Pages

This was the first part in the book when Dimmesdale went on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl. When all three of them were on the scaffold Pearl was described as “Pearl she a symbol, and the connecting link between the two”(139). When they were on the scaffold pearl connected Hester and Dimmesdale. As soon as Pearl held hands with both of them she felt as if she was no longer a product of sin because of Hester and Dimemsdasles actions. When the townspeople saw this they thought that Pearl was a magical human that brought together two people in a tough time.

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319 Words | 2 Pages

By Dimmesdale's hand always on his chest, everyone makes the connection that he is the father of Pearl because of the Scarlet Letter on Hester’s

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419 Words | 2 Pages

Arthur Dimmesdale commits the greatest sin. Throughout the novel, he never confesses to being Pearl’s father, and he acts like a hypocrite. He is the pastor in the town of Boston, Massachusetts, but yet he has committed the sin of adultery by having a child out of wedlock with a married woman. His sin is actually a combination of many sins, but it all starts when he commits adultery with Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father, but he never will confess this to the public.

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559 Words | 3 Pages

He is described as pale and physically weak, with a tremendously sweet but broken voice. From the beginning, the reader can draw conclusions that Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl, considering the way he protects Hester from punishment, and pushes her to reveal the name of her lover. It is known that if Dimmesdale were to out himself as Pearl’s father, he would lose his job, title, and

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502 Words | 3 Pages

Pearl’s estranged behavior is believed to be a result of the way she was conceived through sin, which is just another example of how Pearl is the physical representation and constant reminder of Hester’s sin. Towards the end of the book, Pearl is finally allowed to be a real human being once Dimmesdale confesses his sin. In Chapter 23, Hawthorne writes, “The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father’s cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy…” (Hawthorne 142).

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941 Words | 4 Pages

We are all sinners, no matter how hard we try to hide our faults, they always seem to come back, one way or another. Written in the 19th century, Nathaniel Hawthorne shows us Hester Prynne and how one sin can change her life completely. Hester Prynne changes a great deal throughout The Scarlet Letter. Through the view of the Puritans, Hester is an intense sinner; she has gone against the Puritan way of life committing the highest act of sin, adultery. For committing such a sinful act, Hester must wear the scarlet letter while also having to bear stares from those that gossip about her.

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599 Words | 3 Pages

“It’s okay to not be perfect. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to do something that you wish you hadn’t done, because if we don’t do those things we never grow.”- Dawn Stanyon. Hester Prynne was one of the main characters in the book The Scarlet Letter

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Pearl is a blessing to Hester. Pearl is a blessing in many ways. She is the only reason Hester is still on Earth. After Pearl and Hester leave Governor Bellingham’s mansion, where he wants to take Pearl out of Hester’s care, Hester talks to Mistress Hibbons about the devil. “Wilt thou go with us tonight?

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796 Words | 4 Pages

The Consequences of Sin Sin is defined as “an offense against religious or moral law”. The idea of sin and being ostracized for your sins was extremely relevant during the Puritan period when religion was the greatest component of daily life. The Puritans believed that they had entered a covenant with God and therefore any sin, such as crime and adultery were considered a breach of their covenant with God. This view led to the church punishing people who committed sin in order for God not to punish the church as a whole. The consequences and effects of sin is shown through the character development in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter.

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1404 Words | 6 Pages

Because of the effects that Dimmesdale’s sin has on Chillingworth, the town suffers as well. The betrayal of their pastor leads them to refuse to see the truth when he pleads for the public to see his guilt at the end of the novel, and his secrecy from the people that adore him is one of the slyest and vile parts of his sin. The blind faith that the public has in their reverend is mislead by his deceit, which causes his sin to grow to a scale that Hester’s never did. Dimmesdale also harmed Pearl, by not standing with her and Hester on the day they were condemned. When she is grown, she asks, “Doth

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744 Words | 3 Pages

It is quite obvious in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter that Pearl, Hester Prynne 's daughter, plays a major role. Not only is she one of the main characters, but she is prevalent theme in the novel, as well. Pearl is not written like a regular character. Most of the other symbols in the story, such as the scarlet letter or the rose bush, lead back to Pearl. Pearl takes on many symbols and serves great purpose.

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779 Words | 4 Pages

Hester Prynne, who is the main character in the novel, committed adultery against her husband, Roger Chillingworth, while she believed he was lost at sea. Roger returns to town, and makes it his goal to get revenge on Arthur Dimmesdale, the father of baby Pearl. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Roger Chillingworth to express the idea that people view other and themselves in many different ways. Hawthorne uses Roger Chillingworth to show determination and forgiveness in the novel. When Chillingworth is talking to Hester about the father of her baby, he states, “I shall seek this man, as I have sought sought truth in books; as I have sought gold in alchemy”(Hawthorne 70).

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893 Words | 4 Pages

The place of isolation can become the place of revelation. The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of Hester Prynne's life after having a child, Pearl, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth, was away and having to live with an A on her chest for adultery. The father of the child, Arthur Dimmesdale, had to live with the guilt and beat himself because of it and the truth remained a secret to almost everyone, except Chillingworth, who planned to get revenge on him because of his sin. Chillingworth became evil and changed because he wanted revenge on Dimmesdale and the guilt made Dimmesdale feel sick. Dimmesdale died after he told everyone the truth and Pearl gained a sense of compassion when she saw him dying.

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