Arthur Dimmesdale's Struggles In The Scarlet Letter

English 3 AP
21 October 2011
The Struggle for the Soul of Arthur Dimmesdale In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne relates the struggle of Dimmesdale’s soul to the classic model of good vs. evil. Arthur Dimmesdale has committed a sin that is heavily frowned upon throughout his community, though; nobody in the community knows what that sin is besides Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale is the minister of the community and he has committed the sin of adultery, partaking in an affair with Hester Prynne while she long waited for her Husband to arrive at Boston. Dimmesdale, being a religious leader, goes through the struggle for salvation throughout the novel because the action of his sin that he has committed is killing his conscious.
Rather than playing the role of a common doctor, Chillingworth is interested in revenge, not righteousness. With the change of name on his arrival in Boston, Chillingworth has hidden his past from everybody except Hester who is sworn to secrecy (Hawthorne 117). He includes himself into the society in the role of a doctor and since the town lacks any sufficient medical care, he is welcomed (Hawthorne 118). Coincidentally, Dimmesdale has been suffering from several health problems and appears to be in pain by frequently grabbing his chest as though his heart is hurting him. Chillingworth then urges the town leadership to insist that Dimmesdale allow Chillingworth to be his medical adviser and accompany Dimmesdale in his residence. By this, Chillingworth may be able to diagnose and possibly cure Dimmesdale (Hawthorne 121). Chillingworth holds a gut feeling that Dimmesdale’s health problems may relate to the sin of adultery that Hester has committed. Throughout the novel, Chillingworth stands by his theory and is out to seek revenge, showing great determination in receiving the most private details about Dimmesdale’s life. Chillingworth torments Dimmesdale’s mind with uncomfortable conversation about sin as Chillingworth is trying to get Dimmesdale to reveal what the doctor wants to hear. For example, when the minister points out an odd
evil dig deep into the roots of the novel The Scarlet Letter as it continuously touches on many aspects throughout the storyline. Roger Chillingworth portrays evil while Pearl represents the good. This good vs. evil connection can almost be seen as the common visual of a devil sitting on one’s shoulder and an angel sitting on the other. These two sides bite back to each other with the middle man, Dimmesdale, into getting what the angel and devil want, in this case Pearl and Chillingworth. Pearl is the good angel persuading and guilt tripping Dimmesdale into confessing his sin to reach salvation. Chillingworth is the evil devil who seeks more of a negative influence upon Dimmesdale. Although the goal is the same for both Pearl and Chillingworth, both have very diverse intentions as Pearl wants him to confess for salvation and Chillingworth wants Dimmesdale to confess in order to seek