for theft. In The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is affected by the secret of his adultery with Hester Prynne, that he must keep hidden. This secrecy has affected Dimmesdale, from him having a mental break down and punishing himself to him constantly being weak and lethargic. Overall, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, presents the negative impact of secrecy on the physical and spiritual state of the character Arthur Dimmesdale, who is forced by society to keep his secret hidden
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The Scarlet Letter summaries. Chapter 1 This chapter somewhat introduces seventeenth-century Boston, where a group of gloomy, sad Puritans stand in front of an old prison in Boston, which seems to be a horrible and degrading place. By the descriptions given (heavy oak door, with spikes) it sounds like the prison is meant to keep and hold deadly murderers and ax murderers. The area around the prison is gray and gloomy. Decay and ugliness are in the author's descriptions, the only thing that sticks
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for lying about his identity and mentally torturing his patient, Arthur Dimmesdale. However, one would be surprised to find that the worst sinner in this novel was one of the most pious men in the community. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was the most sinful in this novel, because he committed adultery with Hester, lived a hypocritical life, and doubted God's ability
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reaction to Dimmesdale and Hester’s decision to leave Puritan society: “as if the gloom of the earth and sky had been but the effluence of these two mortal hearts, it vanished with their sorrows.” While nature’s reaction to their decision is positive, Hawthorne doesn’t quite seem to share these feelings. In fact, the author’s implication of Hawthorne’s use of pathetic fallacy contradicts his own argument. If Hawthorne were using pathetic fallacy, then by describing the light shining on Dimmesdale as “flickering
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tries to ruminate on Dimmesdale when he realizes his wife Hester Prynne commits adultery with Dimmesdale and has an illegitimate daughter, Pearl. When Chillingworth comes back to the Puritan town in Boston, he looks like a man “well stricken in years, a pale, thin, scholarlike visage, with eyes dim and bleared… with left shoulder a trifle higher than the right” (Hawthorne 56) Chillingworth's adverse physiognomy makes him becomes
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adulterous affair (but compare the plot of Fielding's Tom Jones). But Hawthorne was not concerned with a prurient affair here, though the novel’s characters are. Hawthorne chose to leave out the details of the adulterous rendezvous between Hester and Dimmesdale entirely. Instead, he was concerned with the aftermath of the affair--the shaming of Hester, the raising of a child borne of sin, and the values of a society that would allow a sin to continue to be punished long after it would seem reasonable.
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one.” (Hawthorne 47). We later learn that the father is Arthur Dimmesdale, and this lack of communication cause a barrier between them. Her refusal consequently denies any hope of reconciliation between the two for an extensive period. Hester also conceals that Roger Chillingworth is her husband. This pains her because she must helplessly watch his evil ways take their toll on Dimmesdale. However, Chillingworth’s punishment of Dimmesdale goes against his and Hester’s agreement. Hester promised to keep
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responsibilities for Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale throughout the novel. When Roger Chillingworth comes to Puritan Boston, he discovers his wife on an ignominious scaffold for the punishment for her sin, adultery. Although they recognize each other they do not disclose each other's identities. Instead of an intense, passionate marriage, Hester Prynne, and Chillingworth have a weak love that is easily broken by the sin of Hester and Dimmesdale. Chillingworth lacks
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she was. The reader can foreshadow that Chillingworth is greatly affected because of Hester’s sin and is becoming evil. Chillingworth easily could have exposed Hester’s secret but it didn’t give him the same pleasure as torturing Dimmesdale. He was happy to see Dimmesdale suffer. Instead of being DImmesdale’s doctor, Chillingworth makes him worse by using psychological techniques to mess with his mind. Chillingworth becomes destroyed by revenge. Not only is he destroyed but his appearance drastically
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Nathaniel Hawthorne's background influenced him to write the bold novel The Scarlet Letter. One important influence on the story is money. Hawthorne had never made much money as an author and the birth of his first daughter added to the financial burden ("Biographical Note" VII). He received a job at the Salem Custom House only to lose it three years later and be forced to write again to support his family (IX). Consequently, The Scarlet Letter was published a year later (IX). It was only intended
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