Arthur Dimmesdale's Punishment In Scarlet Letter

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In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a young, beautiful woman named Hester Prynne committed adultery and had a child. The town did not know who the father was and Hester would not give up her secret. As her punishment, she had to stand on the town scaffold for a day facing the public. In addition, she had to display a scarlet letter “A” upon her bosom. Hester was considered an outcast by the town. The father was a man named Arthur Dimmesdale, he swore that he would only tell the public that he was the father on the day that he died, and he did. Arthur Dimmesdale was the best and most loved Puritan preacher. Dimmesdale’s “eloquence and religious fervor had already given the earnest if high eminence in his profession (Hawthorne, 59).” …show more content…

Dimmesdale led people to believe that he was disheartened by the crime in his congregation. Her punishment, an embroidered scarlet letter, was far better than the townspeople wished upon her (death) but Dimmesdale’s punishment was far worse. Dimmesdale had kept his secret to himself for more than seven years, and it began to affect his mental health. He whipped himself and fasted because the guilt of not telling his secret got to him. Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, moved in with Dimmesdale and started to torture him. Chillingworth finds something (most likely a branded “A”) on Dimmesdale’s chest while he was sleeping, which shocks him. Dimmesdale has an internal conflict on whether or not he should give up his secret. In Chapter 10, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth discuss how they feel about sin. Dimmesdale says that “The heart, making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things shall be revealed (Hawthorne, 121).” If Dimmesdale had owned up to his secret, he never would have gone through all of the shame and sorrow that he now faces, he would have a relationship with Hester and Pearl, and he would not have to worry about people finding out his secret Dimmesdale was suffering internally where Hester is suffering externally through public …show more content…

Organized religion is a structured system of faith or worship, especially followed by a large number of people. The Puritan faith had many rules and regulations, and an entire settlement followed it. Puritans wanted to purify the church through strict rules, hence the name Puritan. The Puritans in the story are harsh and follow all of the church’s teachings. The sole purpose of women in the Puritan society was to cook, clean, and make children. This was shown when Hester was isolated because she did not have a man in her life. Hester seems to want nothing to do with men until Dimmesdale asks her to run away with him in the forest. Since childhood Hester had been assimilated to the idea that all women need a man in their life, even if she does not believe it. Since Puritans believe in purity, when Hester had a child with another man, the town was furious. They wanted to kill her for her heinous crime, but because she had a child, they did not. Dimmesdale, the town’s preacher, was supposed to be a role model for the town. He did not want to give up his secret in fear of the town. Organized religions commonly have shady things going on behind the scenes and Dimmesdale was a prime example. Everyone’s belief system comes from their surroundings and Hawthorne portrays this

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