hawthorns letter A
Although Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is primarily the story of an adulteress atoning for her sin and conquering the insignia which brings torment to her spirit, the quest of the partner in her sin, Arthur Dimmesdale, is no less important and even more painful. His quest, simply phrased, is to glorify God through his priesthood and expiate his sin of adultery - to save his soul - while protecting his reputation. To do so, he tries to continue day by day to do the work of the Lord which he so loves, while relegating to the darkest, most secret recesses of his heart the crime which he so hates. Only in private does he torture himself for both his original sin and his continued deceit. He nearly fails in his quest to be a holy man, as the horrific deed that he committed nearly kills him through self-hate and illness of spirit. Eventually, however, he succeeds in conquering his fears of humiliation and stands triumphant, publicly repenting for his misdeeds and dying clean of soul. It is not known until well into The Scarlet Letter that Arthur Dimmesdale is Hester Prynne's lover, but by this point, his conscience has already begun inflicting a woeful penalty on his spirit: "His form grew emaciated; his voice...had a
In the end, Chillingworth prevents the plans of Hester and Dimmesdale from reaching fruition. Dimmesdale's death of "triumphant ignominy" is, in fact, the successful resolution of his quest (222). In confessing, Dimmesdale realizes at last that the internalization of sin is not a prerequisite for achieving holiness. In life he strives to achieve spiritual greatness through the suppression of his sin; in death, he achieves purity by opening his heart to the light of truth. By discarding the half of his quest that was to obscure his transgression from the public eye, he is finally able to fulfill the other half - to redeem himself. By besmirching his name in the eyes of man, he achieves far greater glory, at long last, in the eyes of God. Ironically, though his intentions in doing so are malevolent, Chillingworth thus finally impels Dimmesdale to confess his sin to the populace. He does so, announcing that "now...[Hester's partner in adultery] stands before you!...He tells you that [Hester's scarlet letter], with all its mysterious horror, is but the shadow of what he bears on his own breast!" (221). At last, after confessing the sin that has plagued him for years, he perishes on the scaffold. His repentance, though sufficient to save his soul, is too late to save his life. After delivering the address, Dimmesdale walked out of the church and spotted Hester and Pearl. His hidden guilt overtook him and he called the pair to his side. He climbed the steps of the scoffold where years before Hester had stood and received the community's scorn. It was now his turn to admit his part in Hester's shame. With a sudden motion, he tore the ministerial band from his breast and sank dying to the platform. When he exposed his breast, a cut scar of the scarlet letter "A" was seen imprinted on the flesh above his heart. Sensing the impending failure of his quest for holiness, his "inward trou
Some common words found in the essay are:
Hester Prynne's, Hester Dimmesdale, Arthur Dimmesdale, Hester Prynne, Hester Pearl, Scarlet Letter, scarlet letter, Roger Chillingworth, dimmesdale's quest, arthur dimmesdale, hester prynne's, save soul, quest holiness, dimmesdale's character,
Approximate Word count = 1283
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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