SL Paper

Imagine living in a Puritan society where everyone loves God, almost to the point of obsession, and will judge a person on anything they think defies his will. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is about a women in a puritan society who committed the crime of adultery and has to wear a scarlet A on her chest to cause public shame. At the end of the book it is revealed that Arthur Dimmesdale was her companion in this affair. Dimmesdale is a very complex character who changes many times throughout the novel.
To begin with, Dimmesdale was a coward for the first part of The Scarlet Letter. Instead of just confessing his share of the sin to the public he chose to remain silent and let Hester take all of the blame. He should have just confessed right away and it probably would have saved him a lot of trouble later on in the book. Even without an immediate confession, he was given many other opportunities to speak up. He could have easily admitted his sin the day Hester was forced to stand on the scaffold. One of the bystanders in the crowd said “The Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation” (48). This is a very hypocritical and cowardice thing to feel considering that Dimmesdale is the one who had the affair with Hester. Another time his cowardice shows is when Pearl asks him “Wilt thou stand her with Mother and me, tomorrow noontide?” (140) and Dimmesdale replies “Nay, not so, my little Pearl” (140). Once again, his cowardice holds him back from revealing the truth. This is very much like society today where people are scared to tell the truth and would rather sit back and let others take the fall for what they also had a part in. For example, if a group of people decide to rob a bank and one of the robbers gets arrested, in most cases the other criminals aren’t going to come clean, they are just going to let him take the blame.
Next, Dimmesdale changed into being sick with guilt. Dimmesdale is not the type of person to commit such a crime as adultery. "Poor, miserable man! What right had infirmity like his to burden itself with crime? Crime is for the iron-nerved, who have their choice either to endure it, or, if it press too hard, to exert their fierce and savage strength for a good purpose, and fling it off at once!” (136). Since Dimmesdale isn’t that iron nerved type of person it caused him to start to lose his mind with trying to keep the truth hidden from everyone. “Happy you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret! Thou little knowest what a relief it is, after the torment of a seven years’ cheat, to look into an eye that recognizes me for what I am!”(131). “If a man wears one mask in public, and another in private, he will soon forget which one is real” (138). Dimmesdale’s situation is much like a teenagers that has problems at home and has to put on a mask to cover them up when they go to school. Often times these teens don’t even have anyone to talk to so they have to continue to act as if everything is perfect until the stress gets to be too much and they explode somehow. Unlike those teens, Dimmesdale is lucky he at least has Hester to relate with and vent with. His conversations with Hester ultimately lead to them deciding to go to England together.
Finally, Dimmesdale transformed back into a bright and cheerful man who regained meaning to his life. “This is already the better life! Why did we not find it sooner?” (185). “Dost thou think the child will be glad to know me?” “But she will love thee dearly and thou her” (186). He is overjoyed with the idea of moving to England and starting a new life with Hester and his daughter Pearl. His change starts immediately after their decision to leave and he is no longer that guilty cowardice man; he is more energetic and refreshed. “The excitement of Mr. Dimmesdale’s feelings, as he returned from his interview with Hester, lent him unaccustomed physical energy” (197). This is just like in my U.S. History class where we learned about the immigrants coming to America back in the 1800s. Just like Dimmesdale and Hester, they were coming to make a better life for themselves in another country.
In conclusion, Dimmesdale ended up happy, feeling like his life had purpose once again. He had planned a future with Pearl and Hester and would no longer have to worry about his guilt or cowardice. He was not like many people in our society that just get up every day and have the same boring routine all the time. He actually had an interesting constantly changing life that many people seek in society but don’t often have.