Arthur Dimmesdale
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter considers Arthur Dimmesdale, reverend of the Puritanical town, a saint by the town, yet the readers know who he truly is, however that hypocritical view is not necessarily awful, it can actually do good because the town needs a leader who can lead them and take care of them, and Dimmesdale has done just that. In the novel, several characters had developed a public facade to make sure they were respected and hid their true personality, only to be shown to their close ones or their enemies, that included Arthur Dimmesdale, who is a an honorable citizen yet has a dark secret. Arthur Dimmesdale is the reverend to the small town, and is respected in the society. Dimmesdale values this as it makes him
feel like he actually does good and always thinking about his reputation. Hawthorne has shown Dimmesdale always defending himself for his actions and how he must keep his sin a secret. It is because he has a reputation to uphold and can not let his followers down, and even when he tries to tell the people he is “the worst of sinners, an abomination” they respond with him being “the godly youth...the saint on earth” (131), as they believe he is pure and innocent. The villagers are so blind to the Dimmesdale’s faults, but that is because of how they depict him as their role model. Dimmesdale as a role model means that he can help guide people in the right direction as they make life decisions. He is valued as an important person that they cannot see his imperfections and that is completely fine for if this view is destroyed, then they would feel lost and lied to. Hawthorne had characterized his characters with deceptive personalities but with Arthur Dimmesdale, his actions seem justified for it was for the greater good to make sure that the people of the strictly religious town had the leader that can guide them to be upstanding citizens.
feel like he actually does good and always thinking about his reputation. Hawthorne has shown Dimmesdale always defending himself for his actions and how he must keep his sin a secret. It is because he has a reputation to uphold and can not let his followers down, and even when he tries to tell the people he is “the worst of sinners, an abomination” they respond with him being “the godly youth...the saint on earth” (131), as they believe he is pure and innocent. The villagers are so blind to the Dimmesdale’s faults, but that is because of how they depict him as their role model. Dimmesdale as a role model means that he can help guide people in the right direction as they make life decisions. He is valued as an important person that they cannot see his imperfections and that is completely fine for if this view is destroyed, then they would feel lost and lied to. Hawthorne had characterized his characters with deceptive personalities but with Arthur Dimmesdale, his actions seem justified for it was for the greater good to make sure that the people of the strictly religious town had the leader that can guide them to be upstanding citizens.