Dimmesdale's Characters

An Inner Fight With What is Right Often throughout life one may be faced with tough situations that they find hard to resolve. Some situations become long term when they only developed from a simple, menial mistake. The gravity of this one simple mistake can place someone ‘in between a rock and a hard place.’ In the midst of these situations it seems almost impossible to find the best, preferable option. One of the greatest examples in literature occurs when Hawthorne places a renowned minister in the midst of an act of adultery. The Rev. Dimmesdale is propelled fully into feelings of romance, love for his child, and his definite demise from his high rank in the church, if he admits his guilt. He is constantly challenged throughout the book with the decision of accepting his sin and acknowledging his passion for Hester, or whether he must admit his deep, dark secret as minister of the church.

Dimmesdale is viewed as a figure of the church and also transforms into a figure associated with sin. At times these opposites occur just when Hawthorne introduces the opinion opposing the Puritans belief. “At the great Judgement Day!…but the daylight of this world shall not seen our meeting!”(Hawthorne 121). This can be referred to as a polemical when Dimmesdale explains to Pearl how they will never meet in the sunlight outside of the woods. The Rev. instead insists to the young Pearl that they will meet on the great Judgement Day. When he makes this statement it presents the idea that possibly he doesn’t agree with the worldly consequences that would be brought upon him for his actions. This rebuttal against the established ways calls into question what the Reverend actually believes to be