In an emotionally climactic scene toward the end of The Scarlet Letter, Hester and Dimmesdale find themselves conversing in the forest. Hester presses Dimmesdale to join her in returning to the Old World, thereby abandoning the Providence community. Dimmesdale, a minister and revered figure in Puritan society, refuses, and the discussion that follows exposes the critical difference between their behavior. The scene shows that while Hester does not feel guilty, Dimmesdale internalizes his own guilt; this insinuates why they experience discord in difference in character and mindset: one of selfishness, and one of selflessness.
Whether it is due to their different commitments to society, experiences with public shame and punishment, or their