In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Mr. Dimmesdale conceals his greatest secret, which is his sin of committing adultery with Hester Prynne. Being a significant moral figure in society, he fears that his soul would not be able to endure the humiliation associated with revealing his transgression. Consequently, while Hester is publicly ostracized for their act of adultery, Mr. Dimmesdale remains anonymous. Despite opting for guilt rather than shame, Mr. Dimmesdale keeps his identity concealed.
Dimmesdale experienced inner turmoil caused by Chillingworth and suffered more than Hester who had to bear public shame from the scarlet letter. Dimmesdale endured self-inflicted physical and mental suffering due to his guilty conscience. He feared facing public punishment, so he kept his sins secret, not realizing the extent of the psychological torture and suffering he would inflict upon himself.
By confessing solely to himself, he fails to meet the criteria for repentance as there is no one else to grant him forgiveness except himself. Consequently, his conscience remains burdened, forcing him to endure the consequences of his sins. As a result of his emotional anguish, he punishes himself physically by using a “bloody scourge” which he frequently lashes onto his own shoulders (99). In addition to his mental torment, he inflicts severe physical agony upon himself. During the early days of the Christian church, self-flagellation was imposed as a form of penance and purification for both wayward clergy and laypeople.
In the bible, Proverbs states that blows can “cleanse away evil” and stripes can wash the heart (Prov 20:30). The individual in question is attempting to redeem and purify himself without confessing his sins, but this is impossible. In his pursuit of relief from mental anguish, he resorts to self-mutilation, inflicting pain upon himself. However, he finds this method unsatisfying because he continues to neglect the most crucial aspect of redemption: confession. Additionally, he diligently fasts as a means of purifying his soul. Hawthorne mentions that fasting was a customary practice for him, as it had been for many other devout Puritans, although not in the same manner as them…
The protagonist engages in fasting as a means of penance, undergoing physical hardship to purify himself and concentrate on spirituality (99). Employing bodily pain once more to alleviate his mental anguish, he takes part in this ineffective purification method, unknowingly intensifying his own psychological torment. This hopeless situation erodes his religious convictions, which form the core of his existence.
He faces a complete crisis of identity, which is something Hester never had to experience. While she did endure her fair share of loneliness and suffering, she never resorted to self-mutilation as a means of relief. He tries to redeem his tainted soul through various acts of repentance, but it is all futile as there is no confession involved. His torment is internal; he is his own community that shuns and gossips about him, and his own children who throw rocks at him. He has nowhere to escape.
He is fully consumed by his sins and they gradually erode him. Hester, on the other hand, endures public torment from others in town, even though it might have been equally as painful for her at the time, her suffering is still less than Dimmesdale’s. Hester has an escape plan. She possesses the solace of her home away from town, where she can distance herself from the rumors and disdain. Additionally, she openly embraces her accountability in the affair, which enables her to accept the punishment, move forward, and create something positive from it. Consequently, Hester becomes a maternal figure for the community as a result of her encounters.
She cares for the poor, providing them with nourishment and garments. Eventually, the shame associated with the scarlet letter disappears completely in the novel. She no longer has any obligation towards the townsfolk, and some even begin to forget the symbolism behind the scarlet A. On the contrary, Dimmesdale, a highly respected minister, holds a central position within his community as a promoter of religious and ethical principles in that Puritan society. He is compelled to stay in town and publicly preach about piety and the need to live without sin, while secretly feeling like a fraud.
Despite realizing his fault in hiding his sin, Dimmesdale continually allows his craving for public approval to overpower his desire to repent. He serves as their moral compass, yet he himself is lost, causing him to further internalize his guilt and self-punishment. This ultimately leads to further deterioration in both his physical and spiritual condition. By choosing to remain anonymous, Dimmesdale unknowingly creates a duality in personality within himself, ultimately causing the deterioration of his mental well-being.
Dimmesdale, the esteemed minister of the town, is obliged to maintain this contradiction in character. He receives constant admiration for his righteousness and is sought after for moral and spiritual guidance, yet he is internally conflicted. On the other hand, Hester is able to embrace her true self without judgment. The townsfolk are skeptical of Dimmesdale’s claims of being sinful. Due to his upbringing and his affinity for eloquent speeches, the congregation tends to perceive his sermons as metaphoric rather than confessions of personal guilt.
In his speech, Dimmesdale cleverly juxtaposes the literal meaning of his words with the context in which he delivers them. Through his tone of voice, role as a minister, reputation as a virtuous man, and the genre of his sermon, he skillfully states, “I am the greatest sinner among you,” while conveying a sense of humility, piety, and godliness. Deep down, his inner self desperately yearns to confess, but his concern for maintaining a favorable public image restricts him to express it in a manner that cannot be taken literally. Consequently, he finds himself constantly grappling with a inner conflict.
Dimmesdale’s decision to keep his sin a secret ended up causing him even more suffering than if he had been publicly condemned alongside Hester. This is because he subjected himself to years of self-inflicted torment and an endless pursuit of unattainable repentance. Additionally, the role played by Roger Chillingsworth in Dimmesdale’s torture only intensified the agony of his sin. In contrast, Hester’s interactions with the doctor were infrequent, resulting in lesser suffering for her. The physical appearance of Roger Chillingworth, with his twisted and deformed shoulders, mirrors the state of his twisted soul, as suggested by his name.
Chillingsworth, under the guise of a new doctor in town, deceives the young minister and gains his trust. They form a peculiar codependent relationship where Chillingworth controls and ultimately destroys Dimmesdale, who serves as his object of desire. Dimmesdale relies on Chillingworth to keep his guilt alive, as the doctor’s constant provoking pushes him to reveal his inner sin and reminds him of his transgressions. Much like a leech, Chillingworth sucks the life out of Mr.
Dimmesdale has a sick need for reparation for his actions against Chillingworth, which drains Dimmesdale’s life force. Despite his subconscious awareness of his dependence on Chillingworth, Dimmesdale is unable to break away. Their relationship is characterized by a growing intimacy and a wide range of discussions on various subjects such as ethics, religion, public affairs, and private character. They extensively talk about matters that appear personal to them.
“(P#). Chillingworth lived and thrived off the pain and guilt he constantly inflicted on Dimmesdale, while Dimmesdale, in a twisted way, relied on this psychological torture to further his self-inflicted search for forgiveness. The role of Roger Chillingsworth in Dimmesdale’s torture intensifies Dimmesdale’s suffering, causing him to endure far more than Hester, who managed to avoid the evil doctor. Some argue that it was Hester who suffered the most throughout the novel, as her crime led to her seclusion from society.”
They illustrate this with the statement, “Who had been familiarly acquainted with Hester Prynne, were now impress as if they beheld her for the first time was the Scarlet Letter, so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. It had the effect of a spell taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself.” (61). She experienced solitude, and the scarlet letter was a continual weight that Hester had to bear each day, isolating her from all other individuals.
Despite causing Hester to be ostracized, Dimmesdale’s failure to confess led to his ultimate demise. While Hester endured the punishment of wearing a scarlet letter for life, Dimmesdale’s internal struggle with cowardice and guilt proved to be even more agonizing. Constantly punishing himself for his sin, he suffered immensely. Although Hester weathered the public punishment gracefully and even turned it into a positive role for herself in the community, thereby transforming the perception of the scarlet letter.
Despite the fact that Hester had to bear the scarlet letter that labeled her as an adulteress, she was able to redeem herself and change its meaning to “able” through good deeds. On the other hand, Dimmesdale kept their sin hidden within him, never having the chance to reconcile with himself. Instead of publicly accepting his penance, he carried it out in private. He had no choice but to continue carrying the burden of his private shame, while Hester found peace within herself by facing her punishment and growing from it.
The common perception is that suffering is an unconscious attempt to alleviate feelings of guilt. Arthur Dimmesdale, by opting for guilt rather than shame, underwent intense physical and emotional pain. Conversely, Hester openly acknowledged her sin and had a clear conscience, enabling her personal growth and progression. Mr. Dimmesdale’s decision to keep his wrongdoing secret from the public led to his suffering from guilt, exacerbated by the torment inflicted upon him by Roger Chillingworth, and ultimately leading to his tragic and agonizing demise.
