An Analysis Of Reverend Dimmesdale In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

When Hester Prynne goes to Governer Bellingham to beg to be allowed to keep Pearl, he is reluctant at first, until she asks Reverend Dimmesdale to speak on her behalf. At this point in the novel, it has not been revealed that Dimmesdale is Pearl's father, so the reader makes the assumption that when he "came forward, pale, and holding his hand over his heart"(78), he is nervous to speak his opinion because it is delicate subject matter. However, it is revealed at the end of the novel that he actually also had a scarlet letter, except for he wore it under his clothing. Every time that he clutches his heart, he is actually clutching the badge, as a reminder of his sin. The townspeople and those in congregation do not know this, and instead attribute