Who Is Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

Chillingworth’s desire for revenge for Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter greatly conflicts his moral duty as a self-proclaimed physician in Puritan Boston. This revenge began once Chillingworth suspected Dimmesdale of having intimate relations with Hester, although he never confronted him. Dimmesdale’s physical and mental health began to deteriorate once Chillingworth relentlessly tormented him, conveying the significance behind internal guilt and poor external health. It was also quite ironic how Chillingworth was seen as Dimmesdale’s mentor to the public, and although he was a physician whose friend was in failing health, his credibility was never questioned. This revenge was fueled by the betrayal of Hester, who was Chillingworth’s wife before he claimed a new identity and persona. According to Chillingworth, Dimmesdale could never suffer enough for what he’d done unless he’d faced it publicly, but once he did, Chillingworth had nothing to motivate his devious acts. The repugnant acts committed by Chillingworth claiming to be provoking Dimmesdale’s confession are absolutely influential to his failing health and significance in the book, "Better had he died at once! Never

The setting of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet letter” is crucial to the understanding of the event that takes place in the story. The setting of the story is in Salem, Massachusetts during the Puritan era. During the Puritan era, adultery was taken as a very serious sin, and this is what Hester and Dimmesdale committ with each other. Because of the sin, their lives change, Hester has to walk around in public with a Scarlet Letter “A” which stands for adultery, and she is constantly being tortured and is thought of as less than a person. Dimmesdale walks around with his sin kept as secret, because he never admits his sin, his mental state is changing, and the sin degrades his well-being. Chillingworth

The difference between Hester and Dimmesdale’s personal views on sin, and how they deal with their guilt are key themes within The Scarlet Letter.

Along the story, Dimmesdale had sudden changes that change his life completely. Initially, he was a righteous Puritan minister that gained the respect of his community, but he committed a sin. Arthur had relations with a married woman named Hester Prynne and has result of that, they had a baby whose name was Pearl, and she was the proof of the sin. He knows that he was the father, but his fear was so big that hi cowardice gained him and decided to shut up. This tells us his first change, from a sincere person to one who hides the truth.

In chapters 9-16 of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the story shifts more towards the plights and character interactions of the young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Due to the poor health of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth, as the town physician, had come to live with him, and the two had become close friends. For seven years, Chillingworth did his best to tend to the minister while simultaneously tormenting him with psychological barbs by expounding on the necessity of confessing one's sins. Dimmesdale is not aware that Chillingworth is Hester's husband or that he knows Dimmesdale was her lover, but he does not need this incentive to be plagued by guilt. The man routinely attempts to atone for his sins by self-flagellation, starvation, and sleep-deprivation, all in

Through out the scarlet letter there were many ways why a man wouldn’t confess his sins. So by giving the examples and reasons why men won’t confess what they have done wrong would give those who are confused a better understanding on this particular topic. Also questions based on what Dimmesdale is talking about will be answered, for example many question “is a person able to hide his guilt without destroying himself or not? and what is the meaning of Dimmesdale statement when he said “to the untrue man the entire universe is false.”

Dimmesdale is the character I chose, because he deals with his private child while being the minister in the town. This private sin is especially hard for him to come out with, because of his leadership and role in the town. The situation is eating him up inside, to the point where he starts beating himself, and doing several other things to harm himself. It not only took a toll on him, but also on pearl, the baby, and the mother, Hester. It had a worse effect on Hester than Dimmesdale, because Dimmesdale just let Hester take all the backlash for Pearl's birth.

In The Scarlet Letter, the letter A has a symbolic meaning that seemed to change as the

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

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is about a young woman named Hester Prynne, who has committed adultery and gave birth to a daughter named Pearl. As a punishment, Hester has to wear a cloth with a scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest that stands for ‘Adulteress’ for all her lifetime. Meanwhile, Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, who has been missing for two years come back and decides to take a revenge on Hester’s lover. Throughout the novel, Chillingworth has discovered that a young minister named Dimmesdale is a Hester’s lover. Dimmesdale is the worst sinner than Chillingworth because Dimmesdale doesn’t have moral, he is a coward that decides to keep his secret, and he doesn’t have responsibility.

Hawthorne shows that Dimmesdale bears the worst burden because his health was in danger and he eventually dies after he tells the

story because of the actions that she chooses to make, she becomes a better person and society finally accepts her and forgives her for her sins. Although, at first the town hates Hester and forces her to wear the scarlet letter, they finally forgive her. Time passes and she doesn’t have to wear the letter anymore and she almost fits in exactly the way she did before she committed adultery. Even though her reputation was almost back to normal, the legacy of the scarlet letter was never forgotten.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, dimmesdale is a character who changes from guilty to relieved as a result of him confessing. At the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale is guilty because he knows he is the father of Pearl but won’t confess. “Dimmesdale is incapable of confessing that he was Hester's lover .” Dimmesdale wants to hide his sin because he is a minister and it would make him look bad.

"Life is hard, but accepting that fact makes it easier." This common phrase clearly states a harsh fact that Rev. Dimmesdale, a character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, had to face. In this story of deception and adultery set in the Puritan era, Hawthorne introduces Dimmesdale as a weak and cowardly man who refuses to take responsibility for his actions.  The Rev. Dimmesdale is a transitional character in that he is, at the beginning of the novel, outwardly good but inwardly deceitful and by the end of the novel he becomes both outwardly and inwardly truthful.

Guilt, shame, and penitence are just a few of the emotions that are often associated with a great act of sin. Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly respected minister of a 17th century Puritan community, is true example of this as he was somehow affected by all of these emotions after committing adultery. Due to the seven years of torturous internal struggle that finally resulted in his untimely death, Mr. Dimmesdale is the character who suffered the most throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Mr. Dimmesdale’s ever present guilt and boundless penance cause him an ongoing mental struggle of remorse and his conscience as well as deep physical pain from deprivation and self inflicted wounds. The external influence of the members of