Transformation of Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Later in The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale digs himself into a dark hole of shame and failure. At this point in the book Dimmesdale’s guilt has built up to an extreme amount he inflicts torment

Dimmesdale. Ye have both been here before, but i was not with you. Come up, hither once again, and we will stand all three together!” She silently ascended the steps, and stood on the platform, holding little pearl by the hand. The minister felt for the child's other hand and took it “ (Hawthorne 143) From here they are starting to become closer and you notice the closeness that they have bythe way that they all stood together under the moon holding hands. Pearl feels liberated because even though it's night you are still able to see people around. It also implies that they are able to get through the struggles but does not affect them all that much because sooner than later Dimmesdale admits that he is the father of Pearl and Hester kisses Dimmesdale immediately “Partly supported by Hester Prynne, and holding one hand of little Pearl’s the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale turned to dignified the venerable rulers; to the holy ministers, who were his brethren; to the people, whose great heart was thoroughly appalled yet overflowing with tearful sympathy” (Hawthorne 379) It’s able to explain how truthful he was to share out his family and how Pearl accepted to grab his hand in front of all the people. Since she’s been truthful the whole time she was blessed with good fortune after Dimmesdale had died. She met a man who she married and

While Hester tries to protect Dimmesdale by not giving the name of Pearl's father, she actually condemns him to a long road of

Mr. Dimmesdale’s strong ties to his Puritan faith cause him to commit endless acts of severe penance as retribution for his sin, only bringing him continuous physical suffering and the longing for absolution. Dimmesdale’s faithfulness leads him to beg for God’s forgiveness through his actions in the hopes of saving his soul and avoiding some of the punishment he will likely bear in the afterlife. His penitence and fear of public exposure cause Dimmesdale to whip himself harshly in the closet and to fast “…rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him, as an act of penance” (136). Because of the lack of courage within his character, Mr. Dimmesdale turns to private suffering rather than public shame as a means for his atonement. These excessive acts of penance resulted in his suffering of intense physical and mental weakness, and causing him to become frail in overall spirit. In his most extreme act of repentance, Mr. Dimmesdale stooped to self-mutilation by carving the letter A into his own chest to match

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, proves to be a sinner against man, against God and most importantly against himself because he has committed adultery with Hester Prynne, resulting in an illegitimate child, Pearl. His sinning against himself, for which he ultimately paid the

He perpetrates this act of sin and permits the guilt of his deed to haunt him every day of his life. He tries to justify the hiding of his sin by thinking of the damage it could do to his congregation. He believes that he needs to demonstrate a virtuous disposition for his church members. However, despite his attempts at justification, he still suffers tremendously for his sin. Instead of repenting his misdeed, he buries it deep inside of his heart, causing it to slowly deteriorate. In his heart “there was, and there had long been, the gnawing and poisonous tooth of bodily pain” caused by his remorse (Hawthorne 135). Rather than admitting his sin, he inflicts in private actions of self-harm including fasting and scourging himself. Hawthorne emphasizes the daily torture that concealed sin can cause through Dimmesdale’s internal

Dimmesdale will not even be seen in public with Hester and Pearl. He wants to be able to be with his daughter and the love of his life but then people would know that he committed adultery with Hester. Pearl asks, “Wilt thou stand here with Mother and me, tomorrow noontide?” to only hear, “Not so, my child.” from Dimmesdale in return (Hawthorne page 144). Dimmesdale not being able to be with whom he loves is is a struggle.

Dimmesdale inflicts pain on himself because of the enormous amount of guilt he feels and constantly places his hand over his heart. Dimmesdale feels he must be punished for his sin and that this is the only way.

Life is unpredictable, and through trial and error humanity learns how to respond to conflicts and learns how to benefit from mistakes. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a character who changes and gains knowledge from the trials he faces, but first he has to go through physical, spiritual, and emotional agony. In the midst of all the havoc, the young theologian is contaminated with evil but fortunately his character develops from fragile to powerful, and the transformation Dimmesdale undergoes contributes to the plot’s climax.

There is a fine line between hypocrisy and cowardice.  Arthur Dimmesdale, a principal character in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter provides a perfect example of how thin that line can be.   The Scarlet Letter relates a story about sin and the many consequences of not having strength of character.  The true nature of Reverend Dimmesdale's character has been debated since the first publication of the novel.  Dimmesdale is considered by many to be a hypocrite because he cared more about protecting his reputation than he did about protecting the woman he loved.   Others view the Reverend in a more sympathetic light and see him as not a hypocrite, but as a good man

In the 21 century adultery is not considered unacceptable . However in a 16 century Puritan society adultery is a very bad and serious sin. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale is a powerful religious figure in town. Arthur Dimmesdale is a Puritan preacher that committed adultery with Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale went through the whole novel, over the course of seven years, without confessing his sin and it was mentally killing him. Dimmesdale changed from accusatory to Hester to remorseful to god, this change is showed by his use of diction, his purpose of each speech, and his use of appeals.

In society one is told to be individualistic, but is shamed for acting out of customary behaviors. Customary behaviors include, routines, societal rules, and organized religion. The individual believes they are responsible for their outcomes; although, various factors play into who is responsible for the results. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mr. Dimmesdale is a figure of hypocrisy which Hawthorne uses to prove that organized religion has consequences, and to corroborate that Dimmesdale is partially responsible for his actions while the townspeople hold a higher power for forcing him into his actions.

masked mark in his heart. As a result of his concealed sin, Dimmesdale suffers from guilt and

Moreover, Dimmesdale`s suffering reflect on the outside when he was sick of not confessing his truth. For example, of this is that in the book the another has shown us that Dimmesdale suffering is reflecting him on the outside that why in the chapters Dimmesdale keeps on holding on his heart on where the letter “A” is carve on this chest. Another is that when Dimmesdale was leading the church to tell the town folks about how God will be like if you did not follow in the correct way he will sin you that why Dimmesdale did not what to tell everybody about it if he did he could get killed and thought out as a minister in the church and also the townsfolks always believe that Dimmesdale is the only one that can connect to God and he cannot do

        Pearl primarily serves the role of silently urging Dimmesdale to overcome the pressures to conform to society, and to allow his guilty inner-self to emerge and receive retribution for his sins. She exists as a constant and living reminder and product of the sin Hester and Dimmesdale committed, and acknowledges the false innocence Dimmesdale tries so desperately to maintain. Her inquisition, "Why does he not wear [a scarlet letter] outside his bosom as thou dost?" (ch 16) to her mother concerning Dimmesdale is evidence of this. Pearl has no chance to conform to society because at birth she is regarded