Throughout history, humankind has employed secrecy and deception to sway public opinion, control image, and manipulate reputation. Set in a Puritan society with a strict code of moral and ethical standards, characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, likewise, feel forced to keep many of their deeds and misdeeds from public knowledge to avoid criticism and maintain their good names. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale’s choice in timing to reveal his secret sin calls attention to the change in the society’s morals; in addition, the effect of Dimmesdale’s secret proves severity of sin and allows Hawthorne to expose the differences between Hester and Dimmesdale’s lives as influenced by their secrets.
As the novel progresses, the opinions …show more content…
Near the end of the novel, the couple meets discretely in the forest to converse with one another about their time apart and the events of their lives. When Hester inquires as to whether Dimmesdale has been able to “find peace,” he replies, “None—nothing but despair! What else could I look for, being what I am, and leading such a life as mine?” Due to his keeping secrets and living with guilt within him, he has been constantly unhappy throughout his life. He even declares that, “I [He] should long ago have thrown off these garments of mock holiness, and have shown myself to mankind as they will see me at the judgment-seat.” He doesn’t feel that he is deserving of his holy position in society because he is living a life of lies. By contrast, he painfully expresses that Hester clearly appears happy and peaceful because she is able to openly wear her letter and has come to terms with her actions.He attempts to admit his sin throughout the novel, but the townspeople refuse to believe him since he is a holy man and it is simply inconceivable that he would commit such an act. It becomes clear that if Dimmesdale had been forthcoming about his sin earlier on in the novel, he would be able to find peace in the same manner Hester