In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne stresses the point that to be a true follower of God’s law, it is necessary to confess one’s wrongdoings. He shows that through the character Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale, who commits an unreligious sin of passion, struggles with the truth that to be honest with God, it is necessary to confess. He must go through many trials and tribulations to find this truth out. Dimmesdale’s rejection of the truth, shown by his unwillingness to confess his sin, results in the loss of his “self” which is his honest connection with God.
Dimmesdale's unwillingness to confess his sin, leads to his physical deterioration and self harm. When having a confrontation with Roger Chillingworth, who is an extremely …show more content…
Chillingworth said that he found them growing out of an unmarked grave. He justified them by saying “They grew out of his heart, and typify, it may be some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had sine better to confess during his lifetime” (127). However, Dimmesdale disagrees with Chillingworth's claim by calling it a “fantasy” and saying “The heart, making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things shall be revealed. Nor have I so read or interpreted Holy Writ, as to understand that the disclosure of human thoughts and deeds, then to be made, is intended as a part of the retribution (127-28).” He then goes onto explain that it is not sinful to commit a sin and not confess. He believes that the inner guilt between an individual and God in addition to self penance is enough. By taking this claim, Dimmesdale justifies the actions that he is talking by not confessing his own sin. His feeling towards this leads to him harming and punishing himself which drives his honest connection with God even further away. He would whip himself, starve himself “until his knees trembled beneath him (141)” and “He kept vigils, likewise, night after night, sometimes in utter darkness; sometimes with a glimmering lamp; and …show more content…
Because the penance through self harm is not making him any closer with God, Dimmesdale makes unholy decisions and actions. For example, Dimmesdale would meet with Hester in the woods to talk about plans to run away to Europe to escape their sin. In the story, the woods was the place where the devil and lack of truth was most evident. It is also the place where the witches go to sell their soul with the devil. When talking to Hester in the woods about their plans to run away he admits, “If, in all these past seven years...I could recall one instant of peace or hope, I would yet endure, for the sake of that earnest of Heaven’s mercy. But now,—since I am irrevocably doomed,—wherefore shouLd I not snatch the solace allowed to the condemned culprit before his execution?” (197) By admitting this, Dimmesdale claims that since he is already a sinner so why not enjoy the fews years left on earth. These thoughts and actions are all results of his unwillingness to confess. After speaking with Hester in the woods, Dimmesdale seems to have given up on being holy as a whole. As he was walking home, “At every step he was incited to do some strange, wild, wicked thing or other, with a sense that it would be at once involuntary and intentional; in spite of himself, yet growing out of a profounder self than that which opposed the impulse”(213). Because of his new thinking
Dimmesdale's unwillingness to confess his sin, leads to his physical deterioration and self harm. When having a confrontation with Roger Chillingworth, who is an extremely …show more content…
Chillingworth said that he found them growing out of an unmarked grave. He justified them by saying “They grew out of his heart, and typify, it may be some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had sine better to confess during his lifetime” (127). However, Dimmesdale disagrees with Chillingworth's claim by calling it a “fantasy” and saying “The heart, making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things shall be revealed. Nor have I so read or interpreted Holy Writ, as to understand that the disclosure of human thoughts and deeds, then to be made, is intended as a part of the retribution (127-28).” He then goes onto explain that it is not sinful to commit a sin and not confess. He believes that the inner guilt between an individual and God in addition to self penance is enough. By taking this claim, Dimmesdale justifies the actions that he is talking by not confessing his own sin. His feeling towards this leads to him harming and punishing himself which drives his honest connection with God even further away. He would whip himself, starve himself “until his knees trembled beneath him (141)” and “He kept vigils, likewise, night after night, sometimes in utter darkness; sometimes with a glimmering lamp; and …show more content…
Because the penance through self harm is not making him any closer with God, Dimmesdale makes unholy decisions and actions. For example, Dimmesdale would meet with Hester in the woods to talk about plans to run away to Europe to escape their sin. In the story, the woods was the place where the devil and lack of truth was most evident. It is also the place where the witches go to sell their soul with the devil. When talking to Hester in the woods about their plans to run away he admits, “If, in all these past seven years...I could recall one instant of peace or hope, I would yet endure, for the sake of that earnest of Heaven’s mercy. But now,—since I am irrevocably doomed,—wherefore shouLd I not snatch the solace allowed to the condemned culprit before his execution?” (197) By admitting this, Dimmesdale claims that since he is already a sinner so why not enjoy the fews years left on earth. These thoughts and actions are all results of his unwillingness to confess. After speaking with Hester in the woods, Dimmesdale seems to have given up on being holy as a whole. As he was walking home, “At every step he was incited to do some strange, wild, wicked thing or other, with a sense that it would be at once involuntary and intentional; in spite of himself, yet growing out of a profounder self than that which opposed the impulse”(213). Because of his new thinking