“No one is perfect; that’s why pencils have erasers” (Pinterest). When writing an essay, especially on paper, authors often make mistakes. If writers were to try to correct all of their errors by rewriting on top of their pencil marks, they would soon find that their paper has become an unintelligible collection of lines and curves. Everyone makes mistakes in life, but forgiveness allows people to learn and correct the mistakes they make. However, when these mistakes linger in a person’s consciousness, one faces guilt. Guilt is the internal reality overwhelming the characters Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter and Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Guilt from their errors consumes both of them and ultimately causes their downfall. This nagging feeling of fault negatively affects both the sanity and the physical well being of these characters as they struggle with erasing and learning from their former mistakes.
In each of these literary works, the characters Dimmesdale and Lady Macbeth suffer mentally as they wrestle with their guilt. Because Dimmesdale conceals his secret sin, his guilt drives him toward madness. Misery torments him and causes him to physically torture himself by self-imposed whipping and by fasting to the point of starvation. In …show more content…
Dimmesdale, although young in age, suffers as his body declines. A literary expert describes that he “can be seen to be weak, possibly on the verge of death” (Pimple). He gets worse and worse until he eventually dies from this sickness. Similarly, Lady Macbeth experiences drastic negative physical change after committing murder. When she starts to weaken from guilt, she advances toward an unhealthy bodily state and ultimately commits suicide. To reveal her tragic death, Shakespeare writes, “‘Wherefore was that cry?’ ‘The queen, my lord, is dead.’” (Macbeth). Both of these characters display painful physical effects of their hidden
In each of these literary works, the characters Dimmesdale and Lady Macbeth suffer mentally as they wrestle with their guilt. Because Dimmesdale conceals his secret sin, his guilt drives him toward madness. Misery torments him and causes him to physically torture himself by self-imposed whipping and by fasting to the point of starvation. In …show more content…
Dimmesdale, although young in age, suffers as his body declines. A literary expert describes that he “can be seen to be weak, possibly on the verge of death” (Pimple). He gets worse and worse until he eventually dies from this sickness. Similarly, Lady Macbeth experiences drastic negative physical change after committing murder. When she starts to weaken from guilt, she advances toward an unhealthy bodily state and ultimately commits suicide. To reveal her tragic death, Shakespeare writes, “‘Wherefore was that cry?’ ‘The queen, my lord, is dead.’” (Macbeth). Both of these characters display painful physical effects of their hidden