The Scarlet Letter
A guilty conscious can destroy a person both physically and mentally. In The Scarlet
Letter the theme seems to be that a guilty conscious can be the most painful wound ever able
to be inflicted on a person. In the beginning of the book Hester Prynne and Reverend
Dimmesdale have an affair. Hester Prynne is still married to her husband Roger Chillingworth
(which isn’t his real name).
Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth are not really together,
though so there is some justification for the affair. Chillingworth is shipwrecked for 2 years.
. That aside, Dimmesdale is still a man of the cloth and having sex outside of marriage is biblically
wrong. So that begins the story.
Pearl is spawned from this little fiasco between Hester and Dimmeesdale. This is noticed
by the towns people. Hester is punished for her sin by having to wear a scarlett letter every day
on her chest. She did not want toexpose Dimmesdale for fear that he would be punished in a
worse extent than she would be. Dimmesdale was in a high position in the town. If he was
exposed his punishment would be worse and much more painful. It was also logical for Hester to
be the only person punished apposed to having both of them punished. He had too much at stake.
That proves itself wrong. Time goes on. When dealing with the conscious, time does not heal all
The Essay on The Scarlet Letter Hester Pearl Dimmesdale
"The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is an allegorical novel filled with a great deal of symbolism that is both veiled and explicit. The scarlet letter "A" on Hester Prynne's chest may seem easy to interpret, but in reality, it is one of the most ambiguous symbols in the book. Furthermore, various characters can construe the scarlet letter differently. As time passes throughout the story, ...
wounds. This especially deals with Dimmesdale. He grows sick from stress and guilt. It that
wasn’t bad enough, he hadChillingworth trying to keep him alive and pretty much rubbing his sin in
his face. While this is happening, Pearl is growing up and becoming an odd little girl in my opinion.
.
Pearl grew up alone with her mother Hester all of her child years as the book says. She
had no father that lived with her. She didn’t even know that her father was Dimmesdale. Hester
lived her life simply. She wore the letter on her chest every day like she was told. She may have
been embarrassed by wearing the letter, but nevertheless guilt free. Hester and Dimmesdale kept
close contact. They never displayed affection to each other in fear of the truth that Dimmesdale
was the father would be revealed.
Dimmesdale tortured himself. Some say that he even carved the letter “A” into his
chest to punish himself for his sin. His mental state was not good and that affected his physical
state as well. His heart grew weak. He was often seen clenching his chest in pain. Chillingworth
stayed at his house to keep him alive. The was Chillingworth’s revenge on Dimmesdale. If
Dimmesdale were alive, he would be in agony and live in guilt but if he were dead he would not
have to deal with those things. So he did his best to keep Dimmesdale alive.
In the end Dimmesdale dies on the scaffold that Hester stood on when she went before the
town. Before he dies he reveals that he was the father of Pearl and he also reveals the “A” on his
chest. Dimmesdale lived in misery and died in misery due to one avoidable mistake. If he would
have told the truth in the first place and got it off his chest, he probably would not have died.
Guilt destroyed him. In conclusion, the person who has admitted to a crime and is punished for
it is better off then a person who commits a crime and lets the sin eat away at their soul.
