Dimmesdale character analysis

             Arthur Dimmesdale in the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn was a pastor, respected by all and distrusted by none. This Reverend guided his congregation along their spiritual walks; their pathways to heaven. However, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was a mortal. No matter how much he tried to hide this fact, the sin of adultery blackened his heart and soiled his purity. Dimmesdale lead two lives: that of a saint and that of a sinner. Hawthorn reveals both the former and the latter through Reverend Dimmesdale's deteriorated physical appearance, his ever constant inward changes, relationships with other characters, and his struggles with his iniquity.
             Arthur Dimmesdale's physical appearance in this novel directly portrays the condition of his conscience. The Reverend's sin was eating him from the inside out. His saintliness was struggling with his sinfulness. As he watched Hester Prynne constantly be the object of humiliation, his inward judgment grew harsher. Even near the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale's body was starting to deteriorate: "He [Dimmesdale] looked now more careworn and emaciated than as we described him at the scene of Hester's public ignominy" (83). Reverend Dimmesdale was constantly griping at his breast as well (96). However, even though the outward appearance of his transgression was clear to the reader, the other characters in the book took this decline of his health, and constant anguish as humility and sacrifice: "They deemed the young man a miracle of holiness (pg. 103) This was a sin in and of itself; the sin of deception. His conscience was insatiable. Nothing could heal his heart and mend his soul, but an honest confession, a verbal outpouring of his sin. The Reverend's condition worsened until his final confession scene. Reverend Dimmesdale carried his sin throughout most of his human life, but his eternal spirit was r
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Dimmesdale character analysis. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 09:54, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/81431.html