“From Minister to Father”: Dimmesdale’s Transition in The Scarlet Letter
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, many characters undergo dramatic transformations and are changed when the novel ends. In a 17th century Puritan society, the strict laws and the regulated order of life becomes a struggle when lovers Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have to keep their crime of adultery a secret. Dimmesdale, the local religious minister, withholds his secret of the crime for almost seven years, causing him to undertake a different outlook towards life. At the end of the novel, he is no longer scared, but ensuring everyone knows his secret and that he is a good man. Because Dimmesdale cannot turn his back on sin, his multiple appearances at the scaffold aids him in realizing his duty towards the truth, turning him from a religiously devout minister into a loving and passionate husband and father.
At the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale’s presence and role in Hester’s judgement demonstrates that he is duty bound to religion and law. He defends Hester not because he believes that her punishment is unfitting, but because of the secret affection he retains for her. As a man of high social …show more content…
Undergoing years of both torment in the mind and the body, Dimmesdale suffers the most through his ongoing struggle. His death to conclude the novel leaves him as a tragic hero: one who after all these years, manages to find the truth of love and passion. The act of love cannot be suppressed and hidden, and no matter what the judgement is, must be expressed. And though Dimmesdale passes away before the novel ends, the judgement of God is good to him and his family, for they continue to live and prosper. For a man tormented by sin, he learns the lesson of truth and love, bringing the story to a peaceful and fulfilling
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, many characters undergo dramatic transformations and are changed when the novel ends. In a 17th century Puritan society, the strict laws and the regulated order of life becomes a struggle when lovers Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have to keep their crime of adultery a secret. Dimmesdale, the local religious minister, withholds his secret of the crime for almost seven years, causing him to undertake a different outlook towards life. At the end of the novel, he is no longer scared, but ensuring everyone knows his secret and that he is a good man. Because Dimmesdale cannot turn his back on sin, his multiple appearances at the scaffold aids him in realizing his duty towards the truth, turning him from a religiously devout minister into a loving and passionate husband and father.
At the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale’s presence and role in Hester’s judgement demonstrates that he is duty bound to religion and law. He defends Hester not because he believes that her punishment is unfitting, but because of the secret affection he retains for her. As a man of high social …show more content…
Undergoing years of both torment in the mind and the body, Dimmesdale suffers the most through his ongoing struggle. His death to conclude the novel leaves him as a tragic hero: one who after all these years, manages to find the truth of love and passion. The act of love cannot be suppressed and hidden, and no matter what the judgement is, must be expressed. And though Dimmesdale passes away before the novel ends, the judgement of God is good to him and his family, for they continue to live and prosper. For a man tormented by sin, he learns the lesson of truth and love, bringing the story to a peaceful and fulfilling