Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl of The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a Romantic novel set in Colonial Boston. The main character, Hester, wears a scarlet letter "A" as a symbol of adultery, but she refuses to identify the partner in her crime. Hawthorne uses many symbols in his novel to discuss the effects of this refusal. Three symbols in the novel are Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl. One symbol in the novel is Hester. A symbol is a person or thing that
The Sins of Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth in The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a study of the effects of sin on the hearts and minds of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Sin strengthens Hester, humanizes Dimmesdale, and turns Chillingworth into a demon. Hester Prynne’s sin was adultery. This sin was regarded very seriously by the Puritans, and was often punished
the book, Hester is brought out with Pearl to stand on the scaffold. Here the scarlet letter is revealed to all. Reverend Dimmesdale, Pearl's Father, is already raised up on a platform to the same height as Hester and Pearl; and Roger Chillingworth, Hester's lost husband, arrives, stands below and questions the proceedings. As Hester endures her suffering, Dimmesdale is told to beseech the woman to confess. It was said "So powerful seemed the ministers appeal that the people could
Pearl's Life Without Shame in The Scarlet Letter Neither Hester's love for Authur Dimmesdale nor her need for atonement of her sins were the primary reasons why Hester remained in Boston. However, Hester mainly lived out her punishment to set an example for Pearl of what she should not become. Hester Prynne's life had been a continuous series of disappointments and shame. Because she cared for her daughter, Pearl, Hester treated her punishment more as a means of teaching Pearl a respectable
god. Others, such as myself, believe that he had a different idea of who God was; The Scarlet Letter was written in a way that would portray God as an angry, vengeful, being that was slow to forgive. God put seven years of suffering upon Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, for a sin whom he committed with Hester Prynne. When he finally confessed and his life looked like it was about to get better, God abruptly ended his time on the earth. Hester Prynne was almost shunned by everyone, even the sunshine. Her
in The Scarlet Letter take great lengths to conceal their secret shame. Hester Prynne, the adulterous lover to Reverend Dimmesdale, lied in order to conceal the true meaning of her Scarlet Letter from her daughter, Pearl. Hester tells Pearl, "... as for the scarlet letter, I wear it for the sake of its gold-thread" (Hawthorne 166). Hester's guilt ridden lover, Reverend Dimmesdale, concealed his shame as well. As he himself phrased it, "Cowardice which invariably drew him back [from revealing
character and every character was punished in a unique way. Two characters were perfect examples of this theme in the novel. Hester Prynne and The Reverend Dimmesdale best demonstrated the theme of the effects of sin. One character who demonstrated the effects of sin was Hester Prynne. Hester Prynne commits adultery with the Reverend Dimmesdale. Because this act resulted in a child, she was unable to hide her wrongdoing while Dimmesdale’s analogous sin went unnoticed. Her punishment for her
set back in the Puritan Times. In this response, I will give my reactions in writing to different aspects of the novel;the characchters, my likes and dislikes, my questions, and my opinion of the harsh Puritain lifestyle. Hester Prynne, the Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth each suffered guilt in their own way in the novel The Scarlet Letter. In the beginning of the novel, Hester Prynne should have not suffered the way she did on the scaffold alone. She was forced to be intergated by the
her punishment for adultery. This takes place during the day as the entire town is placed before to observe. The second scene of scaffold revelation brings the Reverend Dimmesdale to the top of the platform alone as he attempts to lift the weighty guilt off of his chest. Finally, towards the end of the story, we see Hester, Reverend Dimmesdale, and their child, Pearl standing together in front of the judging crowd. In each of these scenes the revelations captured in that moment by the character or characters
Prynne commits the sin of adultery, and then is confined to wear an embroidered scarlet-colored “A” on her chest, to signify what she had done. She does not release the name of the other adulterer, and leads a life with her daughter, Pearl. Reverend Dimmesdale, the secret father of the child, struggles against himself due to the fact that he doesn’t confess to everyone his sin. Religion was of great importance in the Puritan society. It gave a guideline for the morals that citizens should follow
At the beginning of the novel, we are shown Pearl's natural child-like instincts for the Preacher, who is actually her father. When Pearl was first a baby, Hester and she were shamed on the scaffold while Reverend Dimmesdale, her father, preached to the awed crowd of the deep sin committed by Hester. Pearl reached out for him, "and held up its little arms," (pg. 68) as if reaching for
of Character The Scarlet Letter involves many characters that go through several changes during the course of the story. In particular, the young minister Dimmesdale, who commits adultery with Hester, greatly changes. He is the moral blossom of the book, the character that makes the most progress for the better. It is true that Dimmesdale, being a minister, should be the role model of the townspeople. He is the last person who should commit such an awful crime and lie about it, but in the end,
American literature is that behind every good leader lurks a few dark secrets. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the Reverend Dimmesdale is a devoted leader of the church who causes great inspiration to his congregation over the years. In fact, it seems that the greater his personal suffering grows, the more the public view of him appreciates. Arthur Dimmesdale is an adulterer and a hypocrite. While his lover Hester Prynne suffers publically for their combined sin, he is exalted as a
especially when deliberate, and 2. Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong. These who definitions cleary represent the sin in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, through the characters Hester Prynne, her daughter Pearl, Dimmesdale the father, and Chillingworth, Hester's husband. Hester Prynne, the wearer of the famous scarlet letter that gave the novel it's name, is the story's source of the unforgivable sin that tears through the community of Boston in the 1600's. Hester's
he did not go unpunished. Reverend Dimmesdale had taken it upon him to stand on the same platform that Hester had, and he also whipped himself. The whipping did not
others believe that ever since, human beings have been inclined to evil, more likely to disobey than to act in a godly manner. This is a faithless, cynical view of humanity, but one perhaps justified by the actions of Hester Prynne and the Reverend Dimmesdale. Sin seems to be an inevitable factor in their lives; though they are good people, their sin boils up and nearly destroys them. Do they make a conscious choice to sin? Or does their sin simply take control, as it is bound to do in all human
now wears her hair in a cap, and the only effort of considerable worth is that which she expends in her teachings to Pearl. She has earned the towns people respect. People now regard the letter as representing the word "able." As the Reverend Dimmesdale refers to Pearl in his argument for allowing the child to remain with her mother, "God gave Pearl as a blessing and as a reminder of her sin." The girl herself is a much more considerable punishment to Hester then the letter "A" is. Pearl
chapters of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the reader begins to gather insight into the character of Reverend Dimmesdale, one of the four main individuals presented in the text. When considering Dimmesdale, the question arises as to whether he is a hero or a coward. Although opinions could vary, it is clear from the evidence presented in these chapters that Dimmesdale is indeed a coward. There are many details that could be pulled from the text to support Dimmesdale’s cowardice
The Scarlet letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The plot focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, has an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale, which means they are adulterers and sinners. As a result, Pearl is born and Hester is forced to where the scarlet letter. Pearl is a unique character. She is Hester’s human form of her scarlet letter, which constantly reminds her of her sin, yet at the same time, Pearl is a blessing to have since she represents the passion
is a strong, proud and loyal person who resists the worst influences of her community. Once Hester has begun to wear the scarlet letter in public and is interrogated, she holds out against the preachers in a great display of strength. Reverend Dimmesdale is the first to try to entice her to divulge her accomplice's name. After his sweet speech brings all the listeners "into one accord of sympathy" (3: 5), no one dares to think that she will not give the name of her partner. She withholds