The Demise of Hester and Dimmesdale

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The choices that people are bound to make are not only going to affect themselves, but also could severely affect the people who are close to them. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, exhibits the effects of choices that people make, and how they can also affect the ones around you. Hester Prynne, the protagonist of, The Scarlet Letter, is to be considered by many a tragic hero; however, Hester herself is guilty of causing her own downfall, as well as Arthur Dimmesdale’s.
Hester’s life was forever changed after the choice she makes to break one of the fundamental laws of Puritan society. At this time, there was no separation of church and state in the early Puritan society, breaking the law of God was also breaking the law of the state as well. The law is stated in Exodus 20:14,"Thou shalt not commit adultery”, is the fundamental law that Hester violates. The punishment as stated in Leviticus 20:10, “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death”, was not instituted on due to the fact that Hester had through her adulterous affair had become pregnant. Her punishment was therefore changed to a scarlet letter “A” that she must wear for the rest of her life and also stand upon a scaffold in front of the town for three hours a day. This is the beginning of Hester’s downfall. Instead of being put to death, she must live her life in shame and raise a child that was conceived through a sinful relationship. On the first day of her punishment, she began a life of secrecy by not divulging the name of the father to anyone, not even to the father himself. “Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step do...

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...Roger Chillingworth, becomes a leech to Dimmesdale. Psychologically torturing Dimmesdale about his guilt, Chillingworth attacks Dimmesdale’s mind, making him believe that there is no way of escaping his sin. After the psychological torture, Dimmesdale hits his lowest point, being engulfed by his sin without a way of escape. Hester’s actions and the actions of her husband cause Dimmesdale’s downfall and the only way for Dimmesdale’s escape from his suffering is death.
People do not live as end to themselves. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester and Dimmesdale’s choice to have an adulterous affair turns to have far reaching negative affects on their lives. Hester’s life changed from a normal Puritan woman to being ostracized and raising a child in vain. The affects of this on Dimmesdale brought upon him unbearable shame that he could not live in peace until his confession.

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