While Dimmesdale does hide his transgressions from the Puritan community, Dimmesdale conclusively offers repentance to the people at the end of the novel. Many times we witness Hawthorne use the sun as a representation of innocence or virtue, here we see the sun shine upon Dimmesdale metaphorically illustrating his sins being forgiven and his virtue being returned to him. The author, Hawthorne, expresses his belief in fallen man’s salvation by saying, “The sun, but little past its meridian, shone down upon the clergyman, and gave distinctness to his figure, as he stood out from all the earth to put in his plea of guilty at the bar of Eternal Justice,” when depicting the moment of Arthur Dimmesdale’s public repentance (Hawthorne 249). This showcases that even Arthur Dimmesdale, a fallen minster, has the ability to achieve salvation if there is a genuine ache for
While Dimmesdale does hide his transgressions from the Puritan community, Dimmesdale conclusively offers repentance to the people at the end of the novel. Many times we witness Hawthorne use the sun as a representation of innocence or virtue, here we see the sun shine upon Dimmesdale metaphorically illustrating his sins being forgiven and his virtue being returned to him. The author, Hawthorne, expresses his belief in fallen man’s salvation by saying, “The sun, but little past its meridian, shone down upon the clergyman, and gave distinctness to his figure, as he stood out from all the earth to put in his plea of guilty at the bar of Eternal Justice,” when depicting the moment of Arthur Dimmesdale’s public repentance (Hawthorne 249). This showcases that even Arthur Dimmesdale, a fallen minster, has the ability to achieve salvation if there is a genuine ache for