Present day churches can be filled with hypocrites. Some members and religious leaders go to church to look nice and appealing to someone else. They present themselves as holy and perfect and incapable of doing wrong, but they know they are far from that. As hard as they may try to look and act like the perfect being, the truth of their imperfect ways will be revealed for all to know. This is the case with the character or Arthur Dimmesdale from The Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale appears incorruptible, revered and strong, but in reality he was corrupt, dishonest, and weak.
Arthur Dimmesdale presented himself as an uncorrupted man by his social status. Inside he felt unworthy and corrupt form the sin he has committed. The town’s people looked up to Dimmesdale as a man who could commit no grand sin. “People say that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very seriously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation.” (48). Little did they know that the scandal that Dimmesdale took to hear was the fornication that happened between Dimmesdale and adulteress Hester Prynne. His sinful ways was affecting his health greatly. “Some declared, that, if Mr. Dimmesdale were really going to die, it was cause enough, that the world was not worthy to be any longer trodden by his feet.” (106). The town’s people respected him so much so that they figured it was the world that is corrupt and not Dimmesdale.
Being the pastor of the town Dimmesdale was a revered man. He held the responsibility to lead the town’s people spiritually. Although he tried to live a double life of being a pastor and a man who is trying to keep his greatest sin a secret. He cannot come to terms to confessing his sin even if his guilt i...
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...ter.” (149). While Hester had to receive the penance of her actions and conquer it, Dimmesdale was still in hiding like the coward he presented himself as. He views Hester as the one that got the better end of the situation by saying “Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret!” (167) Dimmesdale envies Hester’s letter because she has no need to hide form anyone and live in secret. Towards the end of his life, Dimmesdale, has enough strength to admit to his sinful actions and declares of God’s mercy.
The war that is going on inside Arthur Dimmesdale is one of appearance vs. reality. Dimmesdale in the end conquers his tribulations and admits to his hypocritical ways. While the town’s people viewed him as their incorruptible, revered and strong pastor they came to realize that he was corrupt, dishonest, and weak.
The town is all out to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne some of the women are suggesting other punishments and the women are telling us about Hester and Dimmesdale. People say," said another, "that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation." (Page 49) Reverend Dimmesdale is seen as a godly man. A man who does not commit sin and in his own mind at this point he feels fine and does not have any guilt. Dimmesdale at this point in the novel is seen as godly and throughout the novel is seen as godly even at the end after the last scaffold scene. Consequently enough, Dimmesdale is trying to convince Hester to reveal the man who has sinned along with her , so the man can be relieved of his guilt, some what ironic because he is the man who has sinned along side with her. "What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin? Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee and the sorrow without. Take heed how thou deniest to him--who, perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for himself--the bitter, but wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips!" (Page 65) This is the first scaffold scene Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is not showing any signs of guilt at this point, he is still fairly the same and has not began to inflict punishment on himself or so it appears. Dimmesdale in the first scaffold scene seems fairly normal and has not begun to transform himself but by the next time we see him at the scaffold he is taken a turn for the worst.
In the book The Scarlet Letter, the character Reverend Dimmesdale, a very religious man, committed adultery, which was a sin in the Puritan community. Of course, this sin could not be committed alone. His partner was Hester Prynne. Hester was caught with the sinning only because she had a child named Pearl. Dimmesdale was broken down by Roger Chillinsworth, Hester Prynne’s real husband, and by his own self-guilt. Dimmesdale would later confess his sin and die on the scaffold. Dimmesdale was well known by the community and was looked up to by many religious people. But underneath his religious mask he is actually the worst sinner of them all. His sin was one of the greatest sins in a Puritan community. The sin would eat him alive from the inside out causing him to become weaker and weaker, until he could not stand it anymore. In a last show of strength he announces his sin to the world, but dies soon afterwards. In the beginning Dimmesdale is a weak, reserved man. Because of his sin his health regresses more and more as the book goes on, yet he tries to hide his sin beneath a religious mask. By the end of the book he comes forth and tells the truth, but because he had hidden the sin for so long he is unable to survive. Dimmesdale also adds suspense to the novel to keep the reader more interested in what Reverend Dimmesdale is hiding and his hidden secrets. Therefore Dimmesdale’s sin is the key focus of the book to keep the reader interested. Dimmesdale tries to cover up his sin by preaching to the town and becoming more committed to his preachings, but this only makes him feel guiltier. In the beginning of the story, Dimmesdale is described by these words; “His eloquence and religious fervor had already given earnest of high eminence in his profession.”(Hawthorne,44). This proves that the people of the town looked up to him because he acted very religious and he was the last person that anyone expected to sin. This is the reason that it was so hard for him to come out and tell the people the truth. Dimmesdale often tried to tell the people in a roundabout way when he said “…though he (Dimmesdale) were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.
Arthur Dimmesdale has many traits and characteristics that make him different from others, even though they change towards the end of the novel. In the beginning, Dimmesdale is “a young clergyman, who had come from one of the great English universities” (55). He is also “a person of very striking aspect, with a white, lofty, and impending brow, large, brown, melancholy eyes” (55). Moreover, Dim...
Arthur Dimmesdale struggles to pacify his conscience and withhold the secret of his sin from
As his story starts out, Arthur Dimmesdale is just a simple minister unsuspected of any immoral activity and even looked up to. “His eloquence and religious fervor had already
The townspeople expect the Reverend to be an honest person, someone they can look up to. This pressure is what is keeping the people from the truth, he can not be a sinner. With all of the guilt built up inside of him, Dimmesdale becomes someone he does not recognize. Once being “a person of very striking aspect” (Hawthorne 63) he has now become weak and old looking. His sin has taken over his body and the only way to stop it is to confess. When Dimmesdale eventually confesses he dies, his body and mind had been so consumed in the secret he was keeping. This is an extreme scenario however one that can definitely show how powerful a secret
Lastly, this was a minister that was worshipped by everyone in his community. Through their eyes, he could do no wrong, so confessing was not an option. Dimmesdale had a way of swaying his audience into leading good lives. Had he publicly confessed, he would lose his ability to be effective in people's lives. "The people knew not the power that moved them thus." (113) Yet, he still wants to confess: " I, your pastor, whom you so reverence and trust, am utterly a pollution and a lie." But, he cannot. (114). He even had virgins of the community ready to marry him, but he never seemed to show any interest
Dimmesdale lives a lie and face a battle of inner conflict between his pride and his guilt throughout The Scarlet Letter. Lacking the courage to brings shame upon himself for his sin, Dimmesdale hides its. This, therefore, makes him a liar whose words are now tainted with deception, molding a far greater sin. This great sin destroys his ability to be a good father and has formed him to be a coward. Dimmesdale believes that if he conceals his sin that he can continue doing Gods work as a penance for his sins. It is Dimmesdale’s “concealed sins” of pride and false witness that exceeds the others because of the everlasting mark he leaves.
Throughout The Scarlet Letter, the effects of guilt and sin are evident within the lives of Dimmesdale and Pearl. Chapter twenty-three in particular is able to portray the negative effects that Dimmesdale’s sins have had on his life. As Hester and Pearl are standing on the scaffold, Dimmesdale turns to them and says, “‘Is not this better,’ murmured he, ‘than what we dreamed of in the forest?’” (304; Ch. 23). In this moment, Dimmesdale reveals his internal struggles to Hester and Pearl. The sin that Dimmesdale committed has caused a constant sense of guilt to be instilled within him. This guilt was so intense that readers are able to infer that he carved a scarlet letter into his chest, and ultimately died due to the overwhelming sensation his
Dimmesdale wants to confess in order to achieve a clear conscience, but his desire to keep the Puritan people believing in God holds him back. His need to defend himself also leads him to keep the secret of his adulterous sin. Ironically, his physical state diminishes because he tries to protect himself. Dimmesdale’s choice to contain all of his guilt inside brings him great amounts of pain and suffering, more intolerable than Hester’s temporary feelings of isolation. Hester’s life proceeds to get better once the people have time to process her sin. Dimmesdale wants to do the right thing, but protecting the church and his reputation proves far more important to him than his own
In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne states that while Dimmesdale and Hester’s sin teaches a valuable lesson, it may be more valuable to look at how Dimmesdale’s companions protect him from having his sin revealed. This is an entirely valid point because Dimmesdale and Hester committed adultery together; it was not just Hester’s sin, and yet she is completely ostracized from her community. Dimmesdale is able to gain this protection because as a minister he is considered an upstanding pillar of society.
In Chapter VIII, Hester Prynne goes to Governor Bellingham’s house to deliver a pair of gloves, and more importantly to see the that Pearl isn’t taken away from her. Bellingham remains adamant on taking Pearl away from Hester when she encounters him in Chapter IX. However, as soon as Dimmesdale proposes the idea of allowing Hester keep Pearl, upon Hester’s request, Wilson immediately cries, “Well said again” (105). Dimmesdale’s persuasion over these authoritative figures manipulates readers into deeming Dimmesdale as an influential and respected figure in society. Furthermore, Dimmesdale supporting the main character, Hester, jades readers into favoring Dimmesdale. In the Conclusion, Hawthorne continues to manipulate readers by perpetuating the image of the esteemed Dimmesdale. Hawthorne includes the opinions of alleged eyewitnesses of the last scene on the scaffold, when Dimmesdale confesses his sin and reveals the A on his chest. A few deny the presence of the scarlet letter on Dimmesdale chest, insisting that such a reverend and holy man could never be the father of
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, a supposed “man of god” takes silence along with Hester. He is guilty of his sins but more so guilty of being a walking hypocrisy in his congregation. To rectify his wrongs, he preaches of god and refraining from sin. However he continues to hide his relationship with Hester and denies his illegitimate daughter the privilege of his name. His commitments to the church are a conflict with his feelings of sinfulness and his need to confess. He yearns to confess but fears the negative outcomes. In his subconscious he wishes to tell all his sins, but results in his strong participation in church.
Hester and Dimmesdale both bear a scarlet letter but the way they handle it is different. Hester’s scarlet letter is a piece of clothing, the “SCARLET LETTER, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom” (Hawthorn 51). Dimmesdale on the other hand, has a scarlet letter carved in his chest. This is revealed when Dimmesdale was giving his revelation, in which “he tore away the ministerial band from before his breast. It was revealed!” (Hawthorn 232). Since the Scarlet Letter on Hester is visible to the public, she was criticized and looked down on. “This women has brought same upon us all, and ought to die” (Hawthorn 49) is said by a female in the market place talking about Hester. She becomes a stronger person through living this hard life. Dimmesdale instead has to live “a life of cowardly and selfish meanness, that added tenfold disgrace and ignominy to his original crime” (Loring 185). He becomes weaker and weaker by time, “neither growing wiser nor stronger, but, day after day, paler and paler, more and more abject” (Loring 186). Their courage is also weak.
God does not like the sin of adultery. He does not like lying. He does not like hypocrisy. There are two roads that one can choose. In the end, what may seem like the easy way may have far greater consequences than the hard way. Arthur Dimmesdale chose the easy path and learned that the pain of guilt is far greater than the pain of shame.