What Is Dimmesdale's Guilt Theme In The Scarlet Letter

The Pain of guilt slowly rotting away at your mind. The agonizing feeling of constantly knowing you did something wrong. Bad, your actions are not only bad, they're despicable. But should anyone find out, that would be worse wouldn't it? So instead, you hide that guilt. Letting it build as it slowly devourers you alive. This is how Dimmesdale felt near the end of his life. In the book The Scarlet Letter, the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, uses the character Dimmesdale though his comparison with Hester, health, and ultimately death, to develop the theme of hidden guilt verses open guilt. Throughout the book, Dimmesdale's health is weakening. Although his physical state is poor, Hawthorne implies that Dimmesdale's affliction is borne through his own mental state of guilt and sorrow. Hawthorne writes, "While thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul, and given over to the machinations of his deadliest enemy, the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale had achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He won it, indeed, in …show more content…
For example, there health is something greatly compared. Hawthorne uses, Dimmesdale health as a physical embodiment of Dimmesdale's guilt, where Hester is forced to wear her physical embodiment of guilt in the scarlet letter. Dimmesdale guilt only built up inside, "The judgement of God is on me," answered the conscience-stricken priest. "It is too mighty for me to struggle with! Heaven would show mercy," rejoined Hester, "hadst thou but the strength to take advantage of it." (17.43-44)" Dimmesdale is so filled with grief from his sin that he says it is "too mighty to struggle with". Because Hester is able to deal with her guilt, that is showed outwardly, she tells Dimmesdale to be strong and use this situation to reveal his guilt; for she understands how it is better to deal with the unjust society then to hide in fear and