Who Is Dimmesdale's Mental Strength In The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne opens in a Puritan settlement, where Hester Prynne is being publicly shunned for adultery, in which she has to stand in front of a crowd for overt punishment and wear a scarlet ‘A’ on her chest. She holds her child, Pearl, who symbolizes her inability to hide her own past and her sins from the judgment of her settlement. The novel progresses in a way that further defines her mental strength and ability to endure this judgment. However, Arthur Dimmesdale, the town’s pastor, demonstrates a differing method in which he deals with his own personal judgment and fear of alienation. As The Scarlet Letter advances, his mental strength corrupts with the help of Chillingworth’s methods of trickery and Dimmesdale’s

This decision causes his personal culpability and establishes Dimmesdale’s inability to acknowledge his own past. As an illustration, Dimmesdale exhibits his mental fragility as he thinks “of his grave, he questioned with himself whether the grass would ever grow on it, because an accursed thing must there be buried” (Hawthorne 98). Dimmesdale cannot fathom his past and feels guilty for not confessing his sins when he could. He believes that he will die with his secret still remaining, and questions how grass would grow on it if he were buried. His personal knowledge of his past sins manages to corrupt his thoughts and his perception of himself. However, Dimmesdale’s guilt is not the only contributor to his mental state. Another factor that bestows this is Roger Chillingworth’s invidious persona and willingness to gain revenge. After comprehending Dimmesdale’s liability for Hester’s sins, Chillingworth subtly begins to torture Dimmesdale with guilt as he feels this is the only way for him to satisfy his revenge (Hawthorne 95-96). Chillingworth’s subtle methods of torment are another factor that causes Dimmesdale’s psychological strength to degrade, and allows Chillingworth to be satisfied with his desire to get revenge on Dimmesdale and Hester. Dimmesdale’s attitude towards confessing his sins and Chillingworth’s attempts to gain vengeance cause Dimmesdale’s inability to face society’s judgment and his fear of