Arthur Dimmesdale's Confession - 837 Words | Internet Public Library

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Arthur Dimmesdale's Confession837 Words4 Pages

The Scarlet Letter is a story that signifies the treachery behind the sin of adultery. Arthur Dimmesdale plays a key part in the book, since he is guilty of the sin himself. Dimmesdale is seen in the first scaffold scene, looking as pale as death, for he is aware of his sin, but is too cowardly to confess and share the public ridicule with Hester. A few years pass and in the second scaffold scene, Dimmesdale is more reluctant to confess his guilty thoughts, but he merely gives himself a private confession still too guilty to come clean. However, several days after, Dimmesdale greets the crowd of people, witnesses in the third scaffold scene, with his confession for being the reason Pearl, Hester's daughter, exists. Over the course of the three scaffold scenes, Dimmesdale changes from cowardly guilt and hypocrisy to desperate guilt and hypocrisy to repentant hope. In the first scaffold scene Dimmesdale is aware of his guilt and hypocrisy when he questions Hester but it too cowardly to confess his sin. When Dimmesdale is first introduced into the scene, it is clear he wants nothing to do with the current activity at hand. He is as pale as a ghost, and was seemingly trembling because of his fear for his sin to be heard of. However, when he …show more content…

At the beginning of the book, Dimmesdale was a cowardly man who could not even bear to look Hester in the eye. Moving on towards the end of the book, he is seen as more than ready to confess to the adultery, but again is much too cowardly to do so. Finally in the last moments of his life, he was able to clear his conscious of his wrongdoing, and save Hester from the disaffection of the townspeople. Dimmesdale was an unholy Pastor who's immoral desires caused him to commit the worst of sins, however, when he finally confessed his sin he saw how much better his life could have

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Arthur Dimmesdale Quotes

551 Words | 3 Pages

Consequently, Arthur Dimmesdale is the cause of Hester Prynne's shame for he is the man whom Hester loves. No one knows he is the father of Pearl, Hester won't say and he isn't strong enough to speak up. He struggles with this knowledge that Hester is being punished and not him. The only truth that continued to give Mr. Dimmesdale a real existence on this earth was the anguish in his inmost soul, and the undissembled expression of it in his aspect, (Hawthorne 142). Being a minister of God the citizens look up to him, and he feels guilty about his hidden sin.

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Arthur Dimmesdale's Guilt Quotes

1158 Words | 5 Pages

Mentally, his guilt strains his mind, which causes his physical deterioration, and the weakening of his body. As Dimmesdale finally admits his sin to the townspeople, his guilt is lifted, and he is able to release himself from his captivity. Though he deteriorated both mind and body from his guilt, by telling the townspeople of his sin, it was as if “a spell was broken” (238). He no longer needed to force himself to hide his sin, which was what was hurting him. By finally dealing with his sin in a similar way to Hester, Dimmesdale was able to free himself of his self-imposed captivity and

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Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

1227 Words | 5 Pages

Hester and Dimmesdale have both committed adultery, but Hester accepts and embraces what has happened. Alternatively, for Dimmesdale, enduring seven long years of guilt and sin are required to get him to finally reveal the truth. Taking so many years to do so shows how

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Scarlet Letter Guilt Quotes

1464 Words | 6 Pages

Even though only one person that he knows of, Hester, knows his sin, he still is going insane from the misconduct he did. Dimmesdale cannot be freed of his private guilt that is driving him crazy. Dimmesdale is noticeable being damaged by the suffering of keeping his guilt private. After Hester and Dimmesdale discuss their plans to runaway together, in the woods, Dimmesdale returns to the town with a new attitude. He grasps the

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The Consequences Of Hester And Dimmesdale

273 Words | 2 Pages

Despite committing adultery,Hester and Dimmesdale are saved. From the second chapter to the end of the book, Hester has been making up for her sins and dealing with the consequences of her actions. Even though dimmesdale did not confess until the enfo the book, he still suffered the consequences of his sin. Dimmesdale is saved because he confesses his sin to the whole town even though it was seven years late. “At last--- at last I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have stood, here, with this women….”

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Who Is Dimmesdale Guilty Of Adultery

582 Words | 3 Pages

“Why, then, had he come hither? Was it but the mockery of penitence? A mockery, indeed, but in which his soul trifled with itself. He had been driven higher by the impulse of that Remorse which dogged him everywhere” (Hawthorne 138) here dimmesdale can 't face the justice of what he has done wrong which is why the author called him a coward and is the reason why he kept his secrets because he is a coward to admit it to and face the consequences which is why later the guilt of keeping them eats him from the inside.

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Essay On The Scaffold In The Scarlet Letter

1344 Words | 6 Pages

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, focuses on the life of Hester Prynne—the unlucky soul who is caught committing adultery and forced to live a life of shame and ignominy. The scaffold is not only the start of her predicament, but it is also the end of the once seemingly perfect Reverend Dimmesdale’s own guilt. The scaffold is the setting of a scene three times throughout the novel: the beginning, middle, and end. For such a lifeless object, it is difficult to recognize its significance in the novel; however, the scaffold is used by Hawthorne to portray the changing relationship between the characters, specifically Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl.

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How The Reverend Dimmesdale Handled This Passage

781 Words | 4 Pages

Dimmesdale should have come clean right at the start but he instead he covered it up and this opens a door for people to use it against you if they find out. This happens in to Dimmesdale when Chillingworth who at the time was Hester’s ex-husband and Dimmesdale’s doctor, he finds out that his suspicions were right about Dimmesdale being the person that was involved in the affair with Hester when he finds the letter A written on his chest. This opens a door for

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The Scarlet Letter Dimmesdale's Transformation

523 Words | 3 Pages

Dimmesdale changes his views on the repentance of sin throughout the The Scarlet Letter, especially during the beginning, when he is in denial; middle, when Chillingworth makes Dimmesdale turn obsessive of his sin; and end, when

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The Sin Of Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

689 Words | 3 Pages

After he sinned with Hester he did his best to conceal his sin. In the beginning of the book he had the opportunity to confess his part in the making of the baby, but he stood instead “Leaning over the balcony”(76). Because of his concealed sin he lived a lie. He would get up on his pulpit and would utter “I...am utterly a pollution and a lie”(164). While Mr. Dimmesdale’s one mistake was a shameful one he could have reconciled himself by confessing his sin to the

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Hester Prynne And Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

696 Words | 3 Pages

This only made his guilt worsen. Dimmesdale does not feel passionate when he is trying to do job. The people are only imagining getting help because his tainted soul could not possibly redeem other souls. He feels as if he is cheating those people in their faith. Hester then tries to rebuttal by saying “Your present life is not less holy, in very truth, than it seems in people's eyes.

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Consequences Of Sin In The Scarlet Letter

796 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the story, it is clear that he wants to confess his sin, when he is yelling at the scaffold at night but he’s too weak to do it publicly. The interactions between Hester and Dimmesdale show her hold over him because she has been publicly condemned for a sin that they had committed together. His inability to reveal and accept the truth makes him extremely weak. When Dimmesdale decides to reveal the truth during his Election Day speech, he passes away because he had waited too

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The Hidden Sin In The Scarlet Letter

686 Words | 3 Pages

He was the last person that people would think as a sinner. Dimmesdale was sin when he was committed adultery with Hester. He broke the law of church, but he was afraid to face the punishment and indifferent attitude from he masses. As a faithful follower, Dimmesdale also afraid the punishment of God, so he flog himself with a whip. The physical and spiral torture and the control of Chillingworth stranded him in a world that he cannot contact with others.

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Compare And Contrast Dimmesdale And Chillingworth A Sinner

480 Words | 2 Pages

Dimmesdale sinned with Hester Prynne by committing adultery. Although this was terrible and looked down upon, his crime was self inflicting and done out of passion. After Hester was punished for the crime, Dimmesdale was overwhelmed with guilt and sadness. This showed that Dimmesdale was a good person

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Hester And Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter

743 Words | 3 Pages

In Dimmesdale not confessing and facing a punishment in the eyes of the church as well as the townspeople, causing him to take to his own means, while Hester is able to face a punishment. Dimmesdale does what he believes is right for his punishment by doing acts that damaged his mind and body. Dimmesdale, in creating his own punishment, holds vigils that last all night, fasted to the point that he barely ate anything at all, beat himself, and lost the will to live. Dimmesdale's sin stays with him throughout the book, and the readers see his mind and body deteriorate through his mysterious sickness, while the readers see Hester become a closed off outcast trying to repent. The townspeople in the book see DImmesdale's sickness, and how devoted he is to his faith and begin to believe that he is holy, and an angel sent to sent to save them, while Hester has repented and become able, as well as an

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More about Arthur Dimmesdale's Confession

  • Confession
  • Sin
  • Repentance
  • Venial sin
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