In the Hands of a Coward There are many situations where a person is a coward, cowardliness is a choice Some people overcome the situation and others are defined by it. Overcoming a cowardly situation means accepting and admitting flaws. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses his main characters in The Scarlet Letter to show how they failed and became cowardly. Hawthorne gave these many challenges to Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth and Hester Prynne. Throughout the book The Scarlet Letter Arthur Dimmesdale was challenged many times and each time he failed, proving he was in fact cowardly. From the very beginning Dimmesdale hid the fact that pearl was his daughter. He denied his child and that may be the most cowardly thing a man could ever do.Dimmesdale
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The concept that started the entire tragic story was that Chillingworth left his wife for seven years. Chillingworth left Hester alone and afraid, she was unaware of anything. Chillingworth admits that he wronged Hester but still allows her to be treated badly “ ‘We have wronged each other’ answered he. “Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into false and unnatural relation with my decay.’” (Hawthorne 70) Chillingworth knew that he betrayed Hester and did not do anything to try and correct it before it was too late. Roger Chillingworth also attempted to use his job in order to kill his wife’s partner. Chillingworth’s job is to help people and when he used his power to inflict harm due to his enmity with Dimmesdale, he became a coward. “After a time, at a hint from Roger Chillingworth, the friends of Mr. Dimmesdale effected an arrangement by which the two were lodged in the same house; so that every ebb and flow of the minister's life-tide might pass under the eye of his anxious and attached physician.” (Hawthorne 114) Chillingworth made a sick man believe that he was moving in to help him, however it was for his own emolument. Roger Chillingworth should have never ruined his reputation over an …show more content…
Hester was mischievous, she loved the attention and would do anything to get it. After it was known that she had an affair she still kept the man secret. “I will not speak!’ answered Hester, turning pale as death but responding to this voice, which she too surely recognized ‘And my child must seek a heavenly father; she shall never know an earthly one” (Hawthorne 64) Hester knew that if she confessed who she had an affair with she could have let Chillingworth move on, but instead she held him captive like a coward. Hester also ruined her marriage just to sneak off in the woods with another man. “Breathe not, to any human soul, thou didst ever call me husband!” (Hawthorne 71) Chillingworth tells Hester not to ever say he was her husband because she shamed him so bad. Hester Prynne hurt this man beyond measures and did not allow herself to get the proper punishment because she is a coward. Different situations can cause a variety of reactions, throughout this novel most of the actions were cowardly. Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth and Hester Prynne were all given many opportunities to overcome the challenges they were given, however they failed every single time. Each character was thought to be a coward for different reasons but when it comes down to it they are all the
The concept that started the entire tragic story was that Chillingworth left his wife for seven years. Chillingworth left Hester alone and afraid, she was unaware of anything. Chillingworth admits that he wronged Hester but still allows her to be treated badly “ ‘We have wronged each other’ answered he. “Mine was the first wrong, when I betrayed thy budding youth into false and unnatural relation with my decay.’” (Hawthorne 70) Chillingworth knew that he betrayed Hester and did not do anything to try and correct it before it was too late. Roger Chillingworth also attempted to use his job in order to kill his wife’s partner. Chillingworth’s job is to help people and when he used his power to inflict harm due to his enmity with Dimmesdale, he became a coward. “After a time, at a hint from Roger Chillingworth, the friends of Mr. Dimmesdale effected an arrangement by which the two were lodged in the same house; so that every ebb and flow of the minister's life-tide might pass under the eye of his anxious and attached physician.” (Hawthorne 114) Chillingworth made a sick man believe that he was moving in to help him, however it was for his own emolument. Roger Chillingworth should have never ruined his reputation over an …show more content…
Hester was mischievous, she loved the attention and would do anything to get it. After it was known that she had an affair she still kept the man secret. “I will not speak!’ answered Hester, turning pale as death but responding to this voice, which she too surely recognized ‘And my child must seek a heavenly father; she shall never know an earthly one” (Hawthorne 64) Hester knew that if she confessed who she had an affair with she could have let Chillingworth move on, but instead she held him captive like a coward. Hester also ruined her marriage just to sneak off in the woods with another man. “Breathe not, to any human soul, thou didst ever call me husband!” (Hawthorne 71) Chillingworth tells Hester not to ever say he was her husband because she shamed him so bad. Hester Prynne hurt this man beyond measures and did not allow herself to get the proper punishment because she is a coward. Different situations can cause a variety of reactions, throughout this novel most of the actions were cowardly. Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth and Hester Prynne were all given many opportunities to overcome the challenges they were given, however they failed every single time. Each character was thought to be a coward for different reasons but when it comes down to it they are all the