Double Roles Every great star has an alter ego—from classic heroes like Superman hiding behind the ordinary face of Clark Kent, to Beyonce taking on the stage role of confidant, stunning Sasha Fierce. Creating another persona for oneself is seen as something empowering that allows one to gain a greater sense of self. But what happens when one’s personalities are at odds with one another? Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the character Arthur Dimmesdale to show the tragic side of wearing two faces. As Hawthorne shows in his work, the maintenance of two different personas leads to moral conflict which can inflict physical and psychological damage on a person. Throughout the novel, Arthur Dimmesdale undergoes
…show more content…
For example, a significant action he takes in attempt to satisfy his moral anguish is going to the scaffold at night and confessing his sin. As he does this, he is “overcome with a great horror of the mind, as if the universe were gazing on a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart” (134). Because his role as a minister, or righteous example, is at odds with his role as an sinful criminal, he is faced with the internal guilt of being a hypocrite. This guilt inflicts upon him such a strong ‘horror of the mind’ that he feels the need to confess his sin in the middle of the night, in front of nobody but himself. Dimmesdale's desperate attempt to morally come to terms with himself allows Hawthorne to clearly depict how alternate personas can mentally torment an individual. Subsequently, the moral dilemmas Dimmesdale faces because of his two personas cause him to mentally deteriorate to the point where he loses his grip on reality. Hawthorne explains, “To the untrue man, the whole universe is false…the only truth that continued to give Dimmesdale real existence on this earth was the anguish in his inmost soul” (132). As the role of a minister and the role of an adulterer fall on opposite ends of the moral spectrum, occupying both at once makes Dimmesdale feel ethically hypocritical, and thus ‘untrue’ to himself. The anguish
For example, a significant action he takes in attempt to satisfy his moral anguish is going to the scaffold at night and confessing his sin. As he does this, he is “overcome with a great horror of the mind, as if the universe were gazing on a scarlet token on his naked breast, right over his heart” (134). Because his role as a minister, or righteous example, is at odds with his role as an sinful criminal, he is faced with the internal guilt of being a hypocrite. This guilt inflicts upon him such a strong ‘horror of the mind’ that he feels the need to confess his sin in the middle of the night, in front of nobody but himself. Dimmesdale's desperate attempt to morally come to terms with himself allows Hawthorne to clearly depict how alternate personas can mentally torment an individual. Subsequently, the moral dilemmas Dimmesdale faces because of his two personas cause him to mentally deteriorate to the point where he loses his grip on reality. Hawthorne explains, “To the untrue man, the whole universe is false…the only truth that continued to give Dimmesdale real existence on this earth was the anguish in his inmost soul” (132). As the role of a minister and the role of an adulterer fall on opposite ends of the moral spectrum, occupying both at once makes Dimmesdale feel ethically hypocritical, and thus ‘untrue’ to himself. The anguish