Arthur, Tragic Hero or Merely Tragic (The Scarlet Letter)

A detailed Summary of Arthur, Tragic Hero or Merely Tragic (The Scarlet Letter)

Arthur: Tragic Hero or Merely Tragic?

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's torrid tale of The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale, a main character, is confronted with a number of circumstances, both in and out of his control, that lead to his ultimate demise. While it can be argued that Arthur is a tragic hero, he lacks the underlying goodness and strength essential for him to fulfill this role. Otherwise, it may be demonstrated that Arthur meets all the criteria as a tragic hero, though there are other discrepancies to be noted.

Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister, lives his life under the watchful yet admiring eye of the townspeople of Boston and, as a result, becomes a slave to the public opinion. His sin against Hester and Pearl is that he will not acknowledge them as his wife and daughter in the daylight. He keeps his dreadful secret from all those under his care in the church for seven years for fear that he will lose their love and they will not forgive him. He is too weak to admit his sins openly and in their entirety. Instead, he allows his parishioners to lift him in their esteem by confessing, in all humility, that he is a sinner: "The minister well knew--subtle but remorseful hypocrite that he was!--the light in which his vagu

The final aspect of a tragic hero, however, is the one that fits Arthur least. To truly be a tragic hero, Arthur would have to have been a great and respectable man to begin with. This is not the case. Arthur must have been a weak, dependent man before he ever entangled his life with Hester's. Such weakness is not born overnight, but instead is usually drawn out after trials and tribulations like Arthur's. Instead of overcoming his weakness, Arthur lives as a sinner, allowing Hester to be the strong and moral one for them both. Even in death, she is the supporting one, he the weak one. Even as Hawthorne describes him, Arthur is childlike and ill-suited to his environment: "Notwithstanding his high gifts and scholar-like attainments, there was an air about this young minister,--an apprehensive, a startled, a half-frightened look--as of a being who felt himself quite astray and at a loss in the pathway of human existence, and could only be at ease in some seclusion of his own."(58) This is hardly the epitaph of a man of strength and integrity, but rather a brief description of an endless list of insecurities and foibles.

Arthur allows his guilt and self-hatred to destroy his heart and soul, but he still refuses to confess and repent publicly his great transgression. Instead, he is often seen with his hand covering his heart, looking pained and repentant. Arthur allows himself to think the worst of himself, and does not guard his heart against the evil of Roger Chillingworth, which he senses, but chooses not to detect and eliminate.

Arthur, punishing himself for his ugly secret, which his need for public affirmation will not let him reveal, gradually kills himself through guilt and masochistic ritual.

Along with having a tragic flaw that destroys his life, a tragic hero must recognize this destruction, invoking awe and pity in the reader. This Arthur does only half-way, making his recognition and repentance incomplete. He confesses openly tha

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Approximate Word count = 1339
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels