ATROPINE POISONING: WAS IT THE CAUSE OF DIMMESDALE’S DEATH?
In an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Jemshed A. Khan claims that Roger Chillingworth poisoned Arthur Dimmesdale with the drug atropine in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Certainly, Chillingworth was “a man of skill in all Christian modes of physical science'; (Hawthorne 65) and was very knowledgeable about medicinal roots and herbs (Hawthorne 65). Undoubtedly, he could have been aware of how to poison Dimmesdale slowly. Although Khan’s line of conjecture is somewhat persuasive and seemingly well supported, it does not hold up under intense examination. There is much support in The Scarlet Letter to prove that Dimmesdale did not die from atropine.
The main point of Dr. Kahn’s article is to prove that Chillingwrorth wanted to kill Dimmesdale through the use of atropine poisoning, but there are many parts in the novel that suggest Chillingworth wanted to keep Dimmesdale alive to suffer through his own guilt. Evidence exists very early in the novel that deems Dr. Kahn’s theory untrue. During Chillingworth and Hester’s talk about who had wronged whom. Chillingworth says “…I shall contrive aught against his life…';(Hawthorne 70). Speaking of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth goes on to say, “…he be a man of fair repute'; (Hawthorne 70). This passage alone shows...
Dimmesdale’s punishments, while effective and warranted, were not performed by one appointed to do so in view of the public and God. Proctor and Dimmesdale were ultimately punished with death, but not even death was a proper punishment for their heinous crimes. Before Dimmesdale’s untimely death in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Dimmesdale committed the sins of adultery and lying. In order to keep his sins a secret, Dimmesdale spoke nothing of his involvement in the affair until it tore him apart from the inside out.
Dimmesdale, the novel’s hero, was described as an esteemed minister in Puritan era Boston. The next two steps are the call to adventure and refusal of the call. Dimmesdale’s call came from Hester Prynne on the scaffold in the first scene, but he would not join her there, thus refusing the call. The final step in the ordinary world is meeting the mentor. This is the first point where The Scarlet Letter diverges from Campbell’s outline. Whereas Campbell calls the mentor an aide and guide to the hero, Dimmesdale’s mentor was Roger Chillingworth, an evil doctor who had no intent to aide or guide
Arthur Dimmesdale proves himself to be an epitome of dishonesty. As he refuses to reveal his troubles to his physician, Roger Chillingworth, he is not properly brought back to full health. Chillingworth senses the pastor 's deep inflictions, and hints to the clergyman that he should disclose the true nature of his deteriorating health. By picking a black plant to put into medication, he suggests to Dimmesdale "I found them growing on a grave... of the dead man... They grew out of his heart, and typify, it may be, some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had done better to confess during his lifetime" (Hawthorne 123). The physician words this in a way that heavily implies his knowledge of the
Chillingworth states, “What should ail me to harm this misbegotten and miserable babe? The medicine is potent for good.” (4:42) Although Hester believes that Chillingworth may be trying to poison Pearl, she allows him to administer the medicine to her. Shortly thereafter, the novel states that “it soon proved its efficacy, and redeemed the leech’s pledge.” (4:42) This is a direct affirmation from the book that Chillingworth was helping Pearl and Hester. His resentment is directed towards Dimmesdale, as he is the one who caused Hester to have an affair. However, even in his insanity, he was still able to help Pearl. This further shows that he has a good character, and that the only thing causing his bad temper is his distress over Hester’s
Chillingworth contributes to those of guilt and alienation. For example, Chillingworth expresses his own guilt through the ironic searching of Dimmesdale’s. “He had begun an investigation… with the severe and equal integrity of a judge, desirous of truth… instead of human passions and wrongs inflicted upon himself,” (Hawthorne 121). It is conspicuous that Chillingworth, being engrossed in finding the truth of Dimmesdale and his adultery, which he observed through victimizing him, inflicted his own sin upon himself. However, Chillingworth does not only inflict guilt upon himself, but on Dimmesdale as well. The observable effects are “his inward trouble [which] drove him to practices more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred,” (Hawthorne 136). These effects, which Dimmesdale puts blame on his inward trouble, or sin, is caused in part by the victimization of Chillingworth towards him. Hence, Chillingworth has altered Dimmesdale’s original, clergy-like practices to those that are a derivative of sin and guilt. A testament of inflicted alienation upon Dimmesdale is seen in evidence brought up prior, on page 128 of The Scarlet Letter, “… a bodily disease, which we look upon as a whole and entire within itself, may, after all, be
...y, Dimmesdale suffered constantly from corporal afflictions as well as the internal conflict of coping with his actions. After the initial sin, Mr. Dimmesdale lived a life of endless struggle and underwent the most suffering throughout The Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale allowed his life to become consumed with guilt and the quest to complete a suitable penance, which brought him sorrow, self-hatred, and the demise of his body and spirit. The outward influence of society played a key role in Arthur’s unvarying anguish by providing him with a constant reminder of his sin and hypocrisy and adding to the growing guilt and shame he kept bottled within him. Combinations of his mental, physical, and emotional struggles ultimately lead Mr. Dimmesdale to his untimely death. In the end, the suffering became too great to bear and Mr. Dimmesdale’s was forced him to succumb to it.
Thalidomide is 90 years of aspartame, a.k.a. NutraSweet, Finn, Zero Cal, and other trademarks. The text of the American researcher Barbara Alexander Mullarkey was aired on the Internet by Betty Martini and his original can be found in http://www.dorway.com. This is a free radical for the Portuguese, made by me, Beatriz Medina in July 1996.
The fact that revenge destroys both the victim and the seeker is another theme presented in the Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale is the victim of Chillingworth’s revenge upon Hester and whoever her lover happened to be. Dimmesdale, beside his self-inflicted harm was also not helped by the fact Chillingworth enjoyed watching him waste away. However, Chillingworth is also subject to this destiny as evidence by his change in the novel. Chillingworth was considered wise and aged in the beginning of the novel, although, later he is seen as being dusky and evil.
One of the various ways Chillingworth serves as the devil’s advocate is by being the antithesis of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, the palpable Jesus figure of the narrative. Chillingworth keenly sets out to devastate Dimmesdale, as Hawthorne informs us when referring to Chillingworth's unearthing of Dimmesdale's secret, “All that guilty sorrow, hidden from the world, whose great heart would have pitied and forgiven, to be revealed to him, the Pitiless, to him, the Unforgiving!” The capitalization of the words "Pitiless" and "Unforgiving" confirm that Chillingworth is Satan in human form. Symbolically, on an additional, more perceptible note, Chillingworth steals one of Dimmesdale's gloves and drops it on the scaffold in the middle of the town. The sexton returns it to Dimmesdale saying, "Satan...
...espite of what they thought. Dimmesdale confession would prove him to be a man of humbleness and honesty, a man who ratifies his errors of the past and completes his duty as a minister, father, husband, and son of God. Moreover, Dimmesdale has the ability to set himself free from Chillingworth’s bondage instead of bearing more of Chillingworth’s psychological torture. The temptations the minister faced would give him the strength to overcome his fears and to become a devoted man.
...gworth is bitter that his wife has not only had an affair but also is with child because of this adultery. His bitterness is compounded by his anger toward the man unwilling to bear witness to his iniquities as well. This fuels Chillingworth into a serpentine character. His presentation to the townspeople as a well learned practitioner of medicine and of good intentions out of nowhere was explained by the authors, “In answer to this query, a rumor gained ground-and however absurd, was entertained by some very sensible people – that Heaven had wrought an absolute miracle, by transporting an eminent Doctor of Physic from a German university bodily through the air and setting him down at the door of Mr. Dimmesdale’s study!” (Hawthorne 1996, pg.102) This further enlists Chillingworhth to aid the Reverend Dimmesdale in overcoming whatever ailment that he suffered.
...Now go thy ways, and deal as thou wilt with yonder man” (Hawthorne, 192). Chillingworth’s plan for revenge is based on Dimmesdale not confessing to his crime.
The theme Hawthorne builds up in Chillingworth is not simply his pain and torment. It is a more important representation of the weakness in the values of the people in Puritan times, and how their perseverance for "justice" skewed their views on life and forgiveness. Because of his mindset, Chillingworth torments himself with his goal to destroy Dimmesdale just as much as Dimmesdale tortures himself for their seven years together. Chillingworth is ruining his own life and does not realize it, because he no longer sees the value in life as he tries to ruin one.
On September 1st, I have been given the assignment to assess the death of Arthur Dimmesdale, one of the main characters in Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, taking place in Boston, Massachusetts around the mid-1700s. Dimmesdale, an eloquent and young minister, has committed adultery with a young married woman named Hester. While Hester undergoes punishment and humiliation as she conceives Dimmesdale’s daughter, Pearl, Dimmesdale keeps his relationship to them a secret and constantly feels guilty about doing so. For penance and to relieve his sorrow, Dimmesdale tortures himself physically and mentally. Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, figures out Dimmesdale’s secret and vengefully torments him after becoming his physician as a disguise. Towards the end of the story, Dimmesdale suddenly collapses and dies on a scaffold after publicly revealing a letter “A” etched into his chest and confessing the adultery he had committed seven years prior. As an expert forensic analyst in American
Forensic toxicologists have faced numerous challenges throughout the 1800’s and are still facing some of these challenges today. In Gettler’s and Norris’s time of being head of forensics in New York, they faced problems within toxicology study, and some out of toxicology. One of their main problems was metabolizing a poison and determining the lethal dose.