The Sacerdotal Symbol of Courage in The Scarlet Letter

Dimmesdale contained seven years of shame and guilt deep inside his heart. The townspeople had seen Dimmesdale’s constitution feeble noticeably. They ironically believed it was because they were unworthy of his aura of goodness. With the benevolence of his office acting as holy protection, nobody suspected him of the sinful act of adultery. Suffering from self-inflicted ignominy and physical torture, Dimmesdale struggled to redeem himself in some fashion. Near the very end of the novel, Dimmesdale delivered a poignant confession to the townspeople. Afterwards his strength expired and he died. Dimmesdale’s behaviors suggested that his only reason for living so long was to deliver that final confession to the townspeople, therefor making peace with God. Dimmesdale was courageous at the very end because of his religious piety; the seven years had taken a heavy toll upon him and all he wanted was to lift the burden from his soul and receive salvation from his Lord.

Immediately after Dimmesdale had conferred with Hester, a great change overtook him. He was still physically weak, but mentally he had taken a quantum leap in understanding. His sudden insight was “so great a vicissitude in his life could not at once be received as real”(146). Dimmesdale was happy, he had a reason to live, a chance to be with Hester. He does not yet know of Chillingworth’s identity. Hester’s decision not to tell Dimmesdale was injurious retrospectively because the pain of betrayal that would befell upon Dimmesdale later would be much more immense than if she had told him from the beginning. Yet because Hester decided not to reveal the secret, Dimmesdale’s was left with a sense of security, however false it may be in reality. It is because of Hester’s s...

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... does, because of his raw courage and piety. Before he passed away, his self-inflicted badge of shame or rather courage, was just as much amplified as Hester’s object of obloquy was reduced. It is also interesting to note that if Dimmesdale had confessed seven years ago, he would have been punished severely. But because in that epoch of time Dimmesdale has gained such a benevolent reputation, and the Scarlet Letter’s purpose faded, the high ranking officials of the city actually eulogized his behavior. It is likely that Dimmesdale’s passionate speech, his death, or a combination of the two may have obfuscated their reasoning, or the officials may just wish to deny everything to protect the sanctity of the Church. No matter what other people think, Dimmesdale acted courageously and has redeemed himself with his ‘triumphant ignominy”.