The Guiltiest Character In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

Guilt – an emotion that can dominate and destroy lives; In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about the bad deeds of characters and how guilty they are is a matter of opinion. Hawthorne writes this novel about a Puritan town that is disgusted by Hester Prynne having premarital relations with a man she refuses to reveal his identity, however are Hester Prynne and her child’s secret father the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale the guiltiest characters of the book? Many individuals concur that Dimmesdale is the guiltiest character of the story, but in my opinion it is erroneous that Dimmesdale is the guiltiest character; I anticipate that Roger Chillingworth is the guiltiest character because he is culpable for torturing lives and eventually ending them. Roger Chillingworth is guilty for destroying and ending Hester Prynne’s life. In the beginning of the book Chillingworth leaves Hester to go on a boat which got lost at sea and was captured by Indians, which lead Hester to a state of grief; had he not left Hester he would spare her the pain of losing a husband. Since Chillingworth’s body was never found, Hester was not allowed to remarry leaving her lonely. When Hester found love again, she got pregnant and was shamed by the town. When …show more content…
Poor Dimmesdale was constantly pressured by his town holding him to a high standard. Dimmesdale gave into his desires and let things happen between him and Hester Prynne. The transformative power of love brought Hester and Dimmesdale together. After committing adultery with Hester, he was so ashamed and embarrassed that he hid it from the town but would always torture himself for it. Dimmesdale could not be a good father to Pearl because his town will make humiliate him and maybe even take away Pearl from Hester and Dimmesdale. Since no one knew Dimmesdale was Pearl’s father, he was able convince the town that Hester can keep