How Does Dimmesdale Reveal His Secret

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Scarlet Letter Essays 1. Arthur Dimmesdale is the greatest mystery of the story. It starts with the simple question of who Pearl’s father is, but it grows into something much larger. Dimmesdale’s sin eats away at him every day, and every day he becomes more and more worse for wear. Despite his wanting to tell the whole world of his sin, he doesn’t out of fear. Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s real husband, seizes this opportunity to take his revenge on Dimmesdale for what he did. Dimmesdale is almost certain he will never be rid of the torture he feels within himself until he comes out with his secret, but it would be years before he ever does. One of the reasons Dimmesdale doesn’t reveal his secret is his own personality. He has a tendency to always appease the masses in any way that he can. He is always worrying about what others think about him and always wants the people’s respect. He fears that if he tells the people that he committed adultery and is the father of Pearl, he will be punished as …show more content…

It serves as a constant reminder that he has yet to reveal his deepest, darkest secret. Its shining glow radiates onto him and cannot be ignored, which may very well torture Dimmesdale as he feels forced to see it. The letter A is one of the reasons why Roger Chillingworth is desperate to find the father to Pearl (the other reason being Pearl’s birth). Its blazing color could symbolize Roger’s own burning hatred. It could also symbolize the fires of hell because of it’s burning, red glow. The letter A on Hester’s chest is used to symbolize many things. It’s the driving force of the story that reminds the reader and the characters within the story of what they want and each of their end goals. Its attachment to Hester gives it the opportunity to be seen in many different lights, it all depends on how each character decides to see

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