Shame In Scarlet Letter

Guilt and shame haunt all three of the main characters in The Scarlet Letter, but how they each handle their sin will change their lives forever. Hester Prynne’s guilt is publicly exploited. She has to live with her shame for the rest of her life by wearing a scarlet letter on the breast of her gown. Arthur Dimmesdale, on the other hand, is just as guilty of adultery as Hester, but he allows his guilt to remain a secret. Instead of telling the people of his vile sin, the Reverend allows it to eat away at his rotting soul. The shame of what he has done slowly kills him. The last sinner in this guilty trio is Rodger Chillingworth. This evil man not only hides his true identity as Hester’s husband, but also mentally torments

Unbeknownst to the community of Boston, their favorite minister was actually Pearl’s father. Reverend Dimmesdale was a young and charismatic preacher who in the very beginning of the story asks Hester to reveal who Pearl’s real father is to the whole community. She refuses to give up the secret. From the beginning of the novel it is clear that Dimmesdale feels guilty for also being a part of Pearl’s creation and Hester’s punishment when he says, “I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!” He clearly believes that the sin of adultery should be shared by the participants, but for a variety of reasons he does not come clean and instead internalizes his shame. Ironically Dimmesdale becomes an even better pastor as his guilt and shame deepens, his sermons are increasingly popular with his congregation. He openly proclaims to them that he is a sinner and that he has lied to them, but instead of being shocked they consider his proclamation of guilt to be an exaggeration for the sake of his sermon.

People, especially Reverend Dimmesdale were especially mean towards Hester, but later in the story, Dimmesdale is outed as Hester’s lover and an adulterer himself. During the conclusion of the story, Dimmesdale’s health begins to fail, and Hester’s old husband, Mr. Chillingworth, suspects that the illness resulted from a sort of internal guilt Dimmesdale had never expressed to anyone. Eventually, Dimmesdale owns up to his guilt and joins Hester and their daughter, Pearl, in the scaffold where Hester was first punished at the very beginning of the story, and admits that he and Hester fornicated and that Pearl was actually his daughter. In the text it says, “God’s eye beheld it! The angels were forever pointing at it1 The devil knew it well, and fretted it continually with the touch of his burning finger! But he hid it cunningly from men, and walked among you with the mien of a spirit, mournful, because so pure in a sinful world!” (pg. 242 l. 2-6), meaning that he and God knew everything that was going on, and it was burning him up inside. In the end, Dimmesdale dies shortly after his confession, and by the time Hester dies, both are buried next to

Instead of confessing to the community, Dimmesdale, to try and seek forgiveness in another way than confessing, tortures himself to the brink of death. Whilst talking to Hester in the forest, Dimmesdale says: “Had I one friend, —or were it my worst enemy! —to whom, when sickened with the praises of all other men, I could daily betake myself, and be known as the vilest of all sinners, methinks my soul might keep itself alive thereby. Even thus much of truth would save me! But now, it is all falsehood! —all emptiness! —all death!” (288-289). Dimmesdale is depressed in the way that the only thing keeping him alive is his sin. Hester after seven years, is seen as a sort of hero in the community, which is shown when the town calls her “our Hester” (244). Dimmesdale is not able to confess and be forgiven, in relation to Hester already being forgiven and living a relatively decent life. Dimmesdale also must look to other methods for forgiveness while Hester lives with a static punishment. Dimmesdale physically whips himself to attempt to achieve forgiveness, he also does not have anyone to counsel about his feelings, which leads to much depression. Dimmesdale also must deal with physical and mental pain, while Hester deals with

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

Early in the novel, the reader sees evidence of Dimmesdale's hypocrisy. Although the audience remains unaware of his sin until later on in the novel, Dimmesdale asks Hester on the scaffold to reveal the name of Pearl's father, instead of confessing. As the text reads "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name

After all, plans were made and a passage was set. However, Dimmesdale modifies the arrangement to fulfill his personal obligations, further demonstrating his selfishness. Rather than returning to Europe, as Hester intended, Dimmesdale, “partly supported by Hester Prynne, and holding the hand of little Pearl’s”, reveals his sin to the townsmen on the scaffold (232). The public humiliation Hester and Pearl were to face never crossed his mind. In his psychological collapse, the forthcoming glee of his lover and daughter was overshadowed by his sole priority to come clean with God. He even asks Hester, “Is not this better” (232). There is no ostensible reason to why he had said this. Clearly, Dimmesdale believes revealing his sin is better because he he releasing the weight carried within his heart. Hester, however, had dreamed “for years” of restarting her life fresh with the absence of the dreadful scarlet letter, which had brought “Shame, Despair, Solitude” upon her (18). Once again, Dimmesdale flounders to understand the feelings of Hester. Why? Because he is too obsessed about his own well-being. He is simply too self-righteous to put others before

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne paints a picture of two equally guilty sinners, Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale, and shows how both characters deal with their different forms of punishment and feelings of remorse for what they have done. Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale are both guilty of adultery, but have altered ways of performing penance for their actions. While Hester must pay for her sins under the watchful eye of the world around her, Reverend Dimmesdale must endure the heavy weight of his guilt in secret. It may seem easier for Reverend Dimmesdale to live his daily life since he is not surrounded by people who shun

The Scarlet Letter describes the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth to a daughter after an affair with the minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. The town finds Hester guilty of adultery and she is required to wear a scarlet "A" on her dress to shame her. Hester chooses to keep the identity of the father to herself, and Dimmesdale does not come forward with this knowledge because he feels he is such a moral figure to the townspeople. Although Hester goes through the public shame by the citizens who found her guilty, she herself does not feel guilt or shame. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, goes through a much more painful way of life by internalizing his shame which is much more damaging to

Abandoning Hester and her illegitimate daughter Pearl also augmented his problems. Forcing Hester to go and find work around town, an obviously hard task for a single parent.  He also abandons them emotionally and physically. He is rarely there when Hester and Pearl needed him.  Innocent little Pearl wonders why Dimmesdale is so afraid of public displays of affection, yet when they are alone, he takes notice of her and Hester. Talking to him, Pearl asks  "Wilt thou stand here with Mother and me, tomorrow noontide? (149),” a question whose answer is unclear for Pearl. In fact, the only way Hester and Pearl receive any kind of support from Dimmesdale is when Hester threatens to tell the truth about his sins.

When Chillingworth asks Hester the identity of her lover, she refuses to answer. Because of this, Chillingworth makes her promise never to reveal that he is her husband. After Hester is released from prison, she goes to live in a small cottage at the edge of town. After a few years, people begin to notice that her daughter, Pearl, behaves very strangely, and they threaten to take her away from Hester. Hester takes Pearl to Governor Bellingham's mansion planning to plead for the right to keep her daughter. At the mansion she is met by the governor and his three guests, Reverend Wilson, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Reverend Dimmesdale convinces the governor to allow Hester to keep Pearl. Chillingworth, who has been living with Reverend Dimmesdale since his arrival in town, begins to suspect that Reverend Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. One evening while Dimmesdale is sleeping, Chillingworth examines Dimmesdale's chest and finds something which confirms his suspicion. From this moment on, Chillingworth devotes himself to seeking revenge. One night, Dimmesdale is so tormented by his conscience that he goes and stands on the scaffold that Hester had stood on seven years earlier. As he is standing there, he sees Hester and Pearl walk by and he calls them onto the scaffold with him. After he acknowledges his guilt to them, a giant red A

He starves himself as an “act of penance” and whips himself until he bleeds. He also has visions of “Hester Prynne, leading along little Pearl, in her scarlet garb, and pointing her forefinger, first, at the scarlet letter on her bosom, and then at the clergyman’s own breast.” ( ). Despite his guilt, Dimmesdale is still petrified to admit his wrongdoings to the public and continues to ignore Pearl. On the other hand, Pearl is drawn to Dimmesdale and intuitively realizes that she is somehow connected to him.

Shame has been the difference between people reforming themselves and killing themselves. The effect that shame has on society today can make people commit suicide, lose jobs, or just flat out ruin lives. In The Scarlet Letter, Perry's article, and various ethnic news sources today can show, shame is very controlling and has a grip on everyone's lives. While reinforcement can help restrict the amount of harm that is given to someone through criticism, shame can still be used as an effective tool to influence someone to do good because of its prevalence in today's political and social systems, and its grip that it has on daily social media platforms.

Imagine one has committed a crime. They have undermined the very values that our society holds through their ignorance, intolerance and lawlessness. Their punishment should be straightforward, guided by the Constitution and the justice system of our country. Now imagine that the crime was that one has harassed disabled children. What would the punishment be? Jail, community service, maybe even a mere warning? In the case of Edmond Aviv, he was sentenced to jail, community service, anger management, mental health counseling, but perhaps the most damning punishment of them all was that he was forced to stand alongside a busy road holding a sign, labeling him as a bully. The sign stated, “I am a bully. I pick

After being found guilty of adultery, Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her clothing as a public sign of shame. Her long lost husband, now under a new name to remain unknown, reappears after being presumed lost at sea. With revenge on his mind, a drama explodes around Hester. Over many years, her lover Dimmesdale falls ill and the new town physician Chillingsworth spends many hours by his bedside, only to start believing that Arthur is the father of Pearl, Hester’s out-of-wedlock child. When pleading with Dimmesdale, Hester begs him to leave for Europe so that they can start a new life together. This plan fails when Hester discovers that Chillingsworth is also to be a passenger. Eventually, Dimmesdale dies in Hester’s arms, and losing an opportunity at revenge, Chillingsworth dies shortly after. With a large amount of money left to her, Pearl and her mother relocate to Europe to start a new life (Hawthorne).