Scarlet Letter Besmirches Quotes

Much of these words are either derogatory or predict a downfall. One that particularly stands out to me, however, is Besmirches. Dimmesdale lived a lie for almost the entire duration of the book due to the fear that his reputation would be damaged in the eyes of his fellow churchgoers. This not only ultimately led to his death, but led for his internal guilt and physical sickness to overshadow his body throughout the entire novel. He was so afraid that he would besmirch his good name, that his conscience ultimately had to take over and punish him some other way.

Another important word is Inimical, since it signifies the ultimate, true motive of Roger Chillingworth. He is often compared to an inimical alien power, such as the devil himself.

Throughout the novel, Chillingworth seeks revenge and attempts to torture Dimmesdale. However, it is transparent that Dimmesdale is already torturing himself much more than anyone else possibly could. In the end, Chillingworth is not able to get his revenge because he is not the one that causes death upon Dimmesdale. He dies shortly after Dimmesdale, thus proving that his sole purpose for living was to harm Dimmesdale and once he could no longer do so, his time on earth came to an end.
Step 2: Setting
The Scarlet Letter takes place in the mid-seventeenth century in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This is significant throughout the entire novel, as it was a Puritan time and place in which the characters displayed allowed for their lives to revolve around church, repentance, and God. This colony represents the “City upon a Hill,” a secluded place where the Puritans decided to live as an example to the rest of the world in rightful living. Hawthorne speaks of this supposedly holy colony ironically. This is because almost everyone that resided here was guilty of sin. Whether it be through adultery, vengeance, hatred, jealousy, etc--most of the character’s disregarded God’s word one way or another. The character’s were either selfish, impulsive, or simply did not constitute biblical, sacred figures--including Dimmesdale, who was a reverend. This most obviously applies to Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Hester and Dimmesdale are guilty of committing adultery and conceiving a child out of wedlock, while also lying about their relationship. Chillingworth is guilty of letting his evil, impulsive actions take over him and seeking vengeance rather than learning to forgive and love his fellow contemporaries--regardless of how they may have hurt or betrayed him. Most other characters are guilty of talking badly upon Hester or even upon one another. Understanding this is extremely important as it is the foundation of the entire novel. In this way, Hawthorne clearly presents the city upon a hill in an almost sarcastic manner. This irony carries the backbone of the story, proving how even humans who serve their entire lives attempting to achieve perfection in God’s eyes may be the most corrupt ones of all.
Step 3: Plot and Structure
Hester cheats on her husband with Reverend Dimmesdale--a sin that results in her conceiving a baby named Pearl. She must wear a scarlet “A” thereafter, marking her as an adultress. Chillingworth, Hester’s husband, returns to town undercover and plans to find Hester’s lover upon finding out the news. He realizes it is Dimmesdale and seeks revenge. However, the reverend is already sick with guilt so Chillingworth’s harassment doesn’t do much harm. Hester tells Dimmesdale who Chillingworth really is and they plan to move to England with Pearl and become a real family. As he is preaching a sermon, Dimmesdale confesses his sin and tears open his shirt to reveal a red mark--most likely blood--and immediately dies. Shortly after, Chillingworth dies as well and leaves all his fortune to Pearl, which she uses to move to England with her mother. However, Hester eventually returns to the colony and wears her letter proudly. Once she dies, she is buried close to Dimmesdale with a letter “A” marked on her grave.
There are many conflicts presented in this novel. Man vs. Man--since Chillingworth is always playing mind games with Dimmesdale and trying to manipulate him into confession since he suspects that he is Hester’s lovel. Man vs. Self, because Dimmesdale is constantly struggling with his conscience and his guilt upon conceiving a child with Hester or maintaining his position and reputation in the church. Man vs. Society, since almost everyone speaks down upon Hester and her child, thus establishing many of Hester’s insecurities. The central conflict, however, is the concept of good vs. evil. I think that this conflict is the most significant because it is slightly ambiguous in the fact that either character could be on either side. Hester can be viewed as evil since the townspeople deemed her of such foul wrongdoings, causing for her to suffer eternal punishment.. However, she can also be viewed in a positive manner because she was abandoned by her husband and forced to prosper in a society that was against her--almost symbolising a blooming flower in a field full of weeds. Chillingworth can also take both roles, along with the magistrates and townspeople, as they were simply following the law and enforcing God’s teachings by implementing punishment where it was due. However, they went beyond their realms and attempted to strip a mother from her child--an action that may likely be perceived as morally wrong.
As the novel nears an end, Dimmesdale finally confesses everything--therefore not letting the evil overpower him.

However, this is done a little too late since it already caused for his death. In the process, he earns the forgiveness of Hester as well as their illegitimate daughter which essentially frees his soul from eternal damnation. Chillingworth, on the other hand, lets the evil take over him as--even when the Dimmesdale says his final words--he feels no remorse, only bitterness since he was not the one to cause death upon the reverend. Hester still remains to be ambiguous. It could be argued that she let the good win since she was generally happy and turned the “A” into a more positive thing as the novel progressed. However, it is also plausible that she let the evil win since she has always been a mysterious character and her whereabouts aren’t always confirmed, as many rumors arose. The scarlet letter may still be viewed to represent its original meaning of adultery and therefore put upon her grave as an eternal curse. Both outcomes may prove to be consistent with the rest of the story since Hester’s character has always been an ambiguous topic within

itself.
Step 4: Characters
The main character in the novel, Hester, is the protagonist.

She is viewed as a promiscuous scoundrel by her fellow townspeople. The readers, however, sympathize with her as we know her internal struggles and the motive behind her actions. She is an independent woman and her strength peaks when she prospers, even through public humiliation and a life of isolation. In the beginning of the book, she is described as a beautiful woman with a "figure of perfect elegance on a large scale’ (35). Before the novel ends, however, her features are hidden and her warmth vanquished due to the ‘A” embarked upon her. Once she removes this letter--symbolizing her riddance of strict conservative Puritan social expectations--her beauty begins to radiate once again. In this way, Hester’s character revealed how unbending Puritan morals may easily do more harm than good and how the influence of society can therefore corrupt a person. Hawthorne purposely brings light to this era of relentless Puritan ways of life not as to make fun of it, but to capitalize on its flaws. The way Hester was tortured and stripped of her beauty blurs the line between God’s will and individuals’ wills to enforce excessive punishment and pain upon other human beings. Individuals often use the excuse that they’re carrying out God’s will to carry out tyrannical actions, such as shaming and secluding Hester for the rest of her

life.
Dimmesdale is the human personification of frailty and sorrow. He has qualities that imply that he is a poor, innocent man--big eyes, a small figure, pale skin. He is extremely religious which causes for his biggest predicament. Due to the sin he committed with Hester, he is unsure of his souls fate and considers himself a hypocrite as he preaches God’s word but doesn’t follow it himself. He believes in predestination and constantly wonders if he is an elect, but always comes to the conclusion that he isn’t because he believed that his good deeds did not make up for his wrongdoings. The more Dimmesdale suffered of guilt, the better his sermons became--thus representing how even the most inspirational men have made grave mistakes. Towards the end of the novel, Dimmesdale appears to be extremely thin, pale and sick--more so than usual. This signifies how his guilt quite literally ate him alive. However, it also shows how good of a man he was since his conscience would not let him live past this sin. Right before his death, he reveals everything in hopes of salvation for his soul. In this way, he represents human beings in their natural state--constantly being forced to choose between right or wrong.
In the beginning of the novel, it is expressed that Chillingworth is an extremely educated, mature, kind and calm man. His appearance was slightly savage-like since he had just freed captivity, fitting to his character development. In the beginning, the readers sympathize with him because once he comes home, he finds that his wife cheated on him and had a baby with another man. As the story progresses, however, this compassion diminishes as he grows to symbolize the devil and all things evil. This is because he is so blinded by his obsessive nature to seek vengeance that he doesn’t realize that both his physical and his mental appearance is altering. In his first experience seeking revenge, his appearance was described as automatically "dropping down, as it were, out of the sky, or starting from the nether earth”(46). When Chillingworth started helping Dimmesdale, the townspeople believed that he was a Godsend. They came to the conclusion, however, that he was the devil himself because he developed a look of malice that was no longer only internal. Chillingworth was very ambitious in the fact that he wanted to seek revenge upon Dimmesdale. This revenge ultimately led to him being extremely dissatisfied in his life and dying a quiet death, alone. He entered Dimmesdale's heart "like a thief enters a chamber where a man lies only half asleep”(59). Hawthorne describes him as the worst sinner of all, since he was more manipulative and diabolical in his plan. With absolutely no compassion, he becomes the human embodiment of an evil scientist. Hawthorne even says it appeared as though "the old man's soul were on fire, and kept on smoldering duskily within his breast”(116). This serves to prove that vengeance can ultimately lead to one's downfall and obsessive actions are unhealthy to oneself.
Some of the stories minor characters serve to validate the extensive unholiness of human beings who consistently preach and listen to God’s worth. Every minor character was a servant of God, since they all lived on the “City upon a Hill.” However, they all committed sin one way or another. They thus manifest the concept of how blind faith may lead to tyrannical actions and corruption. They even try to use God as the reasoning behind why they should take Pearl away from Hester, effectively proving how they attempted to use God as an excuse for their actions rather than taking responsibility for their own impulsive thoughts. They all talk badly upon Hester but fail to realize that this is a sin within itself. Ultimately, they serve to prove the irony of the “City upon a Hill.”