FREE ESSAY ON SCARLET LETTER

SCARLET LETTER

This statement by Randall Stewart does not contain the same ideas that I believed were
contained within The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I, on the contrary to
Stewart's statement, think Dimmesdale is a coward and a hypocrite. Worse, he is a
self-confessed coward and hypocrite. He knows what he has to do to still the voice of his
conscience and make his peace with God. Throughout the entire story his confession
remains an obstacle . While Hester is a relaynamic. From his fall with Hester, he moves,
in steps, toward his public hint of sinning at the end of the novel. He tries to unburden
himself of his sin by revealing it to his congregation, but somehow can never quite
manage this. He is a typical diagnosis of a wuss. 
To some extent, Dimmesdale's story is one of a single man tempted into the depths of the
hormonal world. This world, however, is a place where the society treats sexuality with
ill grace. But his probl a cleric devoted to higher things. Unlike other young men,
Dimmesdale cannot accept his loss of innocence and go on from there. He must struggle
futilely to get back to where he was. Torn between the desire to confess and atone the
cowardice which holds him back, Dimmesdale goes slightly mad. He takes up some morbid
forms of penance-fasts and scourgings-but he can neither whip nor starve the sin from his
soul. In his agony, he staggers to the pulpit to confess, but his
The reverend seems to want to reveal himself, but Chillingworth's influence and his own
shame are stronger than his weak conscience. Dimmesdale cannot surrender an identity
which brings him the love and admiration of his parishioners. He is far too intent on his
earthly image to willingly reveal his sin. Once Hester explains Chillingworth's plans,
and thus breaks Chillingworth's spell, Dimmesdale begins to overcome him. He does it,
though, in a way which brings him even more earthly glory. Thus, he never loses his
cherished image, and consequently, is pushed down the slippery slope even further.
I, unlike the community, think there is a problem with Dimmesdale. During his struggles
to tell his parishioners the truth, they misunderstand his statements, he loses his
faith, which is never completely regained. Dimmesdale's sin has eaten away at him,
reducing him to a shriveling, pathetic creatungth is a re-affirmation of his sin with
Hester, and the plot to escape the town (201): It was the exhilarating effect-upon a
prisoner just escaped from the dungeon of his own heart-of breathing the wild, free
atmosphere of an unredeemed, unchristianized, lawless region. In short, fallen nature has
set him free from his inner distress, but left him in an unchristianized world, a heathen
world, damnation. He has given in to sin. He has, in effect, willingly agreed to commit
more sins. Dimmesdale realizes he is doing this but is too much of a coward to admit his
original sin to the public. He becomes a figure that no one can help but himself. 
Dimmesdale begins as a fallen man, falls farther, and near the end is, according to
Mistress Hibbins, a servant of the devil (242). Hibbins' words, however, should not be
taken lightly. She seems to be one of the only characters who shows herself to have a
mouth of truth. Dimmesdale attempts to recover, though, with a massive effort, when he
ascends the scaffold with Hester and Pearl. When Chillingworth exclaims, Tvil. Dimmesdale
has at least escaped damnation. He makes another small step forward when Pearl kisses
him. A spell was broken (256). The redeeming angel has pulled Dimmesdale clear of the
shadow of sin but not away from its' presence. After the kiss, Dimmesdale returns to
speaking of God as merciful, and returns to praising Him. He claims, Had either of these
agonies [Chillingworth's influence and the burning torture upon his breast] been wanting,
I had been lost for ever! (257). He believes himself to be saved. I, on the contrary
believe that his attempt to confess was not a complete confession at all. He never truly
states that he had committed adultery with Hester, and that Pearl was, in fact, his
daughter. The reverend could brinot have the courage to honestly confess. The sermon in
which there was supposed to be a noble climax, was empty of such a thing. An incomplete
confession is a useless one to the people of the town, and that is exactly what
Dimmesdale had. 
Dimmesdale's problem, during the course of the story, is that he isn't much of a priest.
He has lost his faith, and is thus false to himself, his congregation, and his god. Yet
his penance has been much more harsh. It seems that the heroic effort Dimmesdale makes to
climb back into the liy a desperate man could have made. He used all his strength to make
one final grasp at redemptl falls quite short. 
Dimmesdale has the potential, though, of climbing much higher after death. Hester is as
Hester was and as Hester will always be. Dimmesdale, the weak, fallen priest, was taken
from earth at the height of hascent because if he hadn't been, he would surely have
fallen again. It is as if God was waiting for him to make his last, valiant leap to reach
Him, and then of his pathetic trajectory. Dimmesdale is redeemed, but, it would seem,
conditionally. If the Puritans believed in a Purgatory, Dimmesdale would be there.
However, with only a Heaven and Hell, Dimmesdale must be admitted into Heaven,
grudgingly. 
Bibliography
the scarlet letter