Arthur Dimmesdale's Narrative Techniques In Scarlet Letter

Arthur Dimmesdale was struggling with his mistakes for a large part of the novel but was torn between revealing his sins to the public and living in secrecy with Hester. The guilt that was living inside him was too much for him and it was eating away at him so he decided to come clean. He decided to do so in one of his church sermons. The language he used had a certain rhythm that conveyed his release of guilt and shame that was bottled up inside. Hawthorne writes, “the language in which the preacher spoke, might still have been swayed to and fro by the mere tone and cadence” (Hawthorne, 197). He uses this type of speech to evoke more emotion out of the public in hopes of a less cold hearted response. Hawthorne continues, “this deep strain