Arthur Dimmesdale’s Guilt and Hypocrisy Essay

In Nathaniel Hawthornes enthralling tale, The Scarlet garner, a revered puritan minister suffers from fear near ill-doing and duplicity after he commits adultery in this novel staged in the 17th century. Arthur Dimmesdale, who hides himself in the shame of his l all over, Hester Prynne, protects his reputation among the prude people. The support, a public symbol of disgrace, contrasts with the rectors close ungodliness of adultery. When Hester became a symbol of sin among the people and wore the ruby letter as punishment, Dimmesdale bears a evildoers masked mark in his heart. As a conduce of his secret sin, Dimmesdale suffers from offense and dissimulation. Over the course of the trio hold scenes, Dimmesdale changes from dastard(prenominal) guilt and duplicity, to dire guilt and hypocrisy, and finally to repentant take to.In the premier scaffold scene, Dimmesdale is aware of his guilt and hypocrisy when he questions his lover, Hester Prynne, nonwithstanding is in addition cowardly to confess his sin. Questioning the hack from a balcony alongside the spiritual and governmental leaders of the Puritan colony, the author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, correlates Dimmesdales august position among the Puritan colony and shows Dimmesdales reputation at stake. Placing pressure on the young woman, Dimmesdale pleads, Be not silent from any mistaken pity and lovingness for him for believe me, Hester, though he were to criterion down from a high present and stand there beside thee, on thy nucleotide of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.1 Wordlessly relieved by her silence, Dimmesdale cowardly withheld his sin from the public.The significance of Dimmesdales cowardliness parallels with the shame and fear of the scaffold and the satire it brings. Seven years later, in the morsel scaffold scene, Dimmesdale is desperate to confess because his guilt and hypocrisy be in possession of solitary(prenominal) increased, but he manages only a cowardly private rehearsal of his confession. In the inactive of the night, Dimmesdale desperately climbed the scaffold and shrieked obstreperously, It is do2 It was not so. Shrieking aloud like those suffering souls who turn off from the face of God, Dimmesdale felt little informality from the iron chains of guilt and hypocrisy. thirstiness to free his guilty soul, Dimmesdale stood on the scaffold imagining Hesters disgrace. Illustrating his inner conflicts, Dimmesdale had expressed himself by screaming aloud. Immediate horror encompassed him because he is afraid of being discovered by the town. Alone in the abyss of darkness, upon the al-Qaida of shame, Dimmesdale found little relief in his private confession in the heartbeat scaffold scene.Finally, a few long time later, Dimmesdale confesses his sin publicly in the tercet scaffold scene, showing his repentance and thereby finding relief from guilt and hypocrisy. Allowing his sin to fester in his heart for over seven years, Dimmesdale, now a death man from sin, decided to ascend the scaffold. Dimmesdale, dread that he, a dying man, sought tenderness and forgiveness, and climbed the pedestal in guilty remorse. Ye that shit loved meye, that have deemed me holy perceive me here, the one sinner of the world At eventually I stand upon the mail service where seven years since, I should have stood3 Beckoning Hester and their child, Pearl, to his side, Dimmesdales voice strengthened. As he confesses, the people recognized Dimmesdale wear down the same stigma that marked Hester. Dimmesdale asks for forgiveness, therefore completing his necessary duty to beat the benefit of redeeming grace and desire and releasing himself from the devils clutches.A dramatic character, Dimmesdale changes through the course of three scaffold scenes as a result of his unnoticeable sins. Arthur Dimmesdale acknowledges his sin in the last scaffold scene as he realizes his cowardice when Hester i s punished and acknowledges his sufferings caused by his hidden sins seven years later. Driven by the realization that his offences dictate his life, Dimmesdales sins clotted him from a deeper spiritual life. At first without success, Arthur Dimmesdale tried to free himself, but doesnt do so until the third scaffold scene when he finally confesses. In conclusion, Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, reminds the reader to be wary of cowardly guilt and hypocrisy as demonstrated in Arthur Dimmesdales character Be true Be true Be true evince freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst whitethorn be inferred.4 Free of guilt and hypocrisy in his public confession, Dimmesdale died in hope of Gods mercy.1-4 Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Scarlet Letter (Dover Thrift Study Edition The know Work + Comprehensive Study moderate right of first publication 2009 by Dover Publications) p. 47, p. 102, p. 127, p. 174Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved. This work belongs to Ashlyn R. Thomas and may not be reproduced without consent. 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