Theme Of Suffering In The Scarlet Letter

Arthur Dimmesdale’s Suffering in The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the most important pieces of American literature. It is a novel about the struggles of a woman who is expelled from her community and the ways that she copes. Even though the main character of the work is Hester, important elements of the story are often revealed through the other characters of the story. This is the case with the major theme of suffering. The character who exhibits the most suffering throughout The Scarlet Letter is Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale’s pain is the result of many aspects of his life, he suffers because of his own mental state, he suffers physically, and he suffers at the hand of others. This results in Dimmesdale being the most tragic character of the novel.
One of the most prolific ways that Dimmesdale suffers in The Scarlet Letter is his mental suffering. Dimmesdale is a character who has extreme mental conflicts, he shows remorse for his wrong doings and this guilt is one of the largest causes of suffering. Hawthorne shows the effect that guilt has on Dimmesdale with the following quote: “And yet, by the constitution of his nature, he loved the truth, and loathed the lie, as few men ever did. Therefore, above all things else, he loathed his miserable self!”(126). This quote shows that Dimmesdale knows what he has done is a sin, …show more content…
All of the characters in the novel suffer in some way, but Dimmesdale is the main victim of the story. He suffers in a wide variety of ways including his own thoughts, physical suffering, and by what other characters do to him. This suffering is a result of his nature. He has committed sins that he feels guilty about, but he absolutely refuses to acknowledge that he has sinned. This results in God punishing Dimmesdale in an attempt to get him to confess. This causes Dimmesdale’s suffering to increase until he pays the ultimate price,