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Recommended: 4. Hawthorne’s Ideas of the Inherently Flawed Human as Presented in The Scarlet Letter

Every individual in the world is frail. Everyone experiences sorrow. In the classical literature novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author describes the book as "a tale of human frailty and sorrow". Hawthorne uses the novel to depict Arthur Dimmesdale's "human frailty and sorrow" through his physical appearance, emotional state, and words spoken to other characters throughout the novel. As Dimmesdale continues to hide and cover up the sin that he committed from the community, it becomes physically obvious that Dimmesdale is experiencing the frailty and sorrow that come from being a human when Hawthorne describes him "suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tortured by some black trouble of the soul, and given over to machinations of his deadliest enemy, the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale [has] achieved a brilliant popularity in his sacred office. He [wins] it, indeed, in great part, by his sorrows"(Hawthorne 93). This quote clearly shows that Dimmesdale is racked with sorrow and frailty to an extent that it is physically changing his appearance. The description of the "black trouble of the soul" is another physical characteristic describing Dimmesdale showing the sorrow and frailty that Dimmesdale endures throughout the novel because the color black is a symbol that is related to death and destruction and therefore sorrow and the frailty of life. The author even specifically mentions what is causing the physical change in Dimmesdale in the last sentence. The sorrows that are mentioned are the foundation of the sorrows that fill Dimmesdale's life and continue to cause pain and sorrow to himself. The detraining physical appearance of Dimmesdale shows the sorrow that Dimmesdale experiences has the power to change h... ... middle of paper ... ...r of these agonies been wanting, [he would have] been lost forever!"(211). This final quote from Dimmesdale shows how the sorrows that he bore changed him and the way that he thought about his life. At the conclusion of his life, he is pleased that he is able to endure the trials that his life has encountered. This shows that the novel has changed his view on his sorrows and frailties from being hindrances into things that have shaped his life for the better. In summary, throughout the novel, Arthur Dimmesdale's frailty and sorrow is shown through the author use of the physical appearance, emotional state, and finally his spoken words to other characters. The use of these three aspects of Dimmesdale's character allows the clearer understanding of Dimmesdale's frailty and sorrow Thus, understanding all aspects of a character allows true insight into the individual.

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