"No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true." (Hawthorne, 212). This quote from The Scarlet Letter contributes to the characterization of Arthur Dimmesdale. Arthur is a well respected minister among the Puritans, but he has commited a secret sin. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale to emphasize not only the physical but the mental effects a sin could have on an individual during the period of Puritans. Arthur is characterized by his immense guilt, his faith, and his isolation from God throughout the novel. Hawthorne uses the character Arthur to show that even the said sinless commit sins; maybe even the biggest sins known.
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On a trip back from an Indian tribe, Dimmesdale runs into Hester. And surprisingly, Dimmesdale finds faith within Hester. Hester goes on to tell Dimmesdale how he is a good man and his good works have earned him a spot in the glorious Heaven. Hester goes on to say that she can handle the burden of the sin for both of them. "You wrong yourself in this this.. You have deeply and sorely repented. Your sin is left behind you, in the days long past. Your present life is no less holy, in very truth, than it seems in people 's eyes. Is there no reality in the penitence thus sealed and witnessed by good works? And wherefore should it not bring you peace?" (Hawthorne, 189). Arhur then sees the world in a new light. He knows he must acknowledge his part in Hester 's sin inorder to receive forgiveness from God and to relieve his immense guilt. He goes home and defeats the devil on his way. At home, he throws away his speech and begins to write a new one for the inaguration of the Governor since he has found new faith in an unluckily source. After the inaguration he begins to fall very weak and he makes his way to the scaffold. He calls up Hester and Pearl, and defeats the devil as Roger tries to make him back down. He admits his part in the sin that created Pearl. This is his judgement day and as he begins to die, Pearl gives him a kiss. This kiss shows he has defeated the Devil and did his …show more content…
The Puritans believed every sin should be punishable. They also believed there were chosen ones who remained sinless their whole life. This Puritan belief is proved wrong throughout this story. Arthur Dimmesdale is a character you can relate to. He is suppose to be a man who cannot commit sin but he commits the sin that is focused on throughout the whole novel. He shows the struggle we all deal with when we commit a sin, even a little one. Even though he does wear the actual letter for his sin, he imagines the letter burned onto his chest. If everyone wore their sins on themselves then we would rethink sinning and we would not be so quick to judge. This also relates back to the Puritan times in the novel. Hester is forced to wear her letter on her clothing and people judge her greatly. Haven 't the people judged her commited sins also? Of course, but they are not judged because they are not wearing the sin on their clothing. Arthur never once judged Hester because he too wore the letter in his heart. Arthur taught us that we should not judge people on what we see. "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules." (Hawthorne,
On a trip back from an Indian tribe, Dimmesdale runs into Hester. And surprisingly, Dimmesdale finds faith within Hester. Hester goes on to tell Dimmesdale how he is a good man and his good works have earned him a spot in the glorious Heaven. Hester goes on to say that she can handle the burden of the sin for both of them. "You wrong yourself in this this.. You have deeply and sorely repented. Your sin is left behind you, in the days long past. Your present life is no less holy, in very truth, than it seems in people 's eyes. Is there no reality in the penitence thus sealed and witnessed by good works? And wherefore should it not bring you peace?" (Hawthorne, 189). Arhur then sees the world in a new light. He knows he must acknowledge his part in Hester 's sin inorder to receive forgiveness from God and to relieve his immense guilt. He goes home and defeats the devil on his way. At home, he throws away his speech and begins to write a new one for the inaguration of the Governor since he has found new faith in an unluckily source. After the inaguration he begins to fall very weak and he makes his way to the scaffold. He calls up Hester and Pearl, and defeats the devil as Roger tries to make him back down. He admits his part in the sin that created Pearl. This is his judgement day and as he begins to die, Pearl gives him a kiss. This kiss shows he has defeated the Devil and did his …show more content…
The Puritans believed every sin should be punishable. They also believed there were chosen ones who remained sinless their whole life. This Puritan belief is proved wrong throughout this story. Arthur Dimmesdale is a character you can relate to. He is suppose to be a man who cannot commit sin but he commits the sin that is focused on throughout the whole novel. He shows the struggle we all deal with when we commit a sin, even a little one. Even though he does wear the actual letter for his sin, he imagines the letter burned onto his chest. If everyone wore their sins on themselves then we would rethink sinning and we would not be so quick to judge. This also relates back to the Puritan times in the novel. Hester is forced to wear her letter on her clothing and people judge her greatly. Haven 't the people judged her commited sins also? Of course, but they are not judged because they are not wearing the sin on their clothing. Arthur never once judged Hester because he too wore the letter in his heart. Arthur taught us that we should not judge people on what we see. "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules." (Hawthorne,