Guilt is a difficult emotion for anyone to bear. It creates a feeling of being ashamed and feeling like others have been let down. Making mistakes is part of being human, but in order to relieve oneself from the guilt, one must confess their sin and guilt to get a clear conscience. In the Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester was more able to deal with her sin than Dimmesdale because she confessed her sin publicly right away, she had Pearl to keep her sane, and she did not have to live with the constant guilt of keeping the sin a secret. Hester confessed her sin publicly in the town square and did her punishment without complaint or pity. Hester was brave and strong, she did not let the negative comments get to her. The townspeople
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Dimmesdale did not have anyone to talk to or have to keep him company, he was losing out on his daughter's life. "'God gave me the child!' cried she. 'He gave her, in requital of all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness!- she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlett letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin? Ye shall not take her! I will die first!'" (Hawthorne 77). Hester even stated she would rather die than lose Pearl because Pearl is her reason for living and there would be no point to go on without her. Dimmesdale intervened at the governor's mansion that day saying Hester should be able to keep the child because Pearl does remind Hester of her sin. If Dimmesdale had confessed and gotten to act as a father to Pearl, he would have been happier and less …show more content…
Confessing a sin right away makes a person more able to move on instead of dwelling on the past and what they could have done to prevent the sin. It is very evident that Dimmesdale suffered more than Hester in this novel because she was able to move on, but Dimmesdale was stuck. This can be a lesson to everyone to not hold guilt in, but to say what is being felt instead of keeping it in and having the sin eat a person
Dimmesdale did not have anyone to talk to or have to keep him company, he was losing out on his daughter's life. "'God gave me the child!' cried she. 'He gave her, in requital of all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness!- she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlett letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin? Ye shall not take her! I will die first!'" (Hawthorne 77). Hester even stated she would rather die than lose Pearl because Pearl is her reason for living and there would be no point to go on without her. Dimmesdale intervened at the governor's mansion that day saying Hester should be able to keep the child because Pearl does remind Hester of her sin. If Dimmesdale had confessed and gotten to act as a father to Pearl, he would have been happier and less …show more content…
Confessing a sin right away makes a person more able to move on instead of dwelling on the past and what they could have done to prevent the sin. It is very evident that Dimmesdale suffered more than Hester in this novel because she was able to move on, but Dimmesdale was stuck. This can be a lesson to everyone to not hold guilt in, but to say what is being felt instead of keeping it in and having the sin eat a person