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Especially in chapters thirteen and fourteen, we see how sin is gripping on Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. Hester views Dimmesdale’s suffering as her responsibility to help him- after all, they are connected. “Hester saw- or seemed to see- that there lay a responsibility upon her, in reference to the clergyman, which she owed to no other, nor the whole world besides. The links that united her to the rest of humankind--links of flowers, or silk, or gold, or whatever the material--had all been broken. Here was the iron link of mutual crime, which neither he nor she could break.” Because of this link, Hester finds it appropriate to talk to Chillingworth about the pain and suffering he’s inflicted upon Dimmesdale. She realizes that his thirst to find the sin in Dimmesdale has changed him into a different man that he was when she was married to him, it has truly taken a toll on him inside and out.…
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In order to fully understand and empathize with Chillingworth, the reader must consider things from his point of view, climb into his skin and walk around in it. It was common in Puritan times for couples to wed for money and security rather than for love. Many of these loveless marriages were successful. In addition, Chillingworth’s “torments” towards Hester and Dimmesdale were out of passion towards his wife. He, like any other man, felt it necessary to remain close to his wife, regardless of the lack of love felt between them. Yes, Chillingworth did turn into a bit of a devil in the end, lusting after vengeance towards Dimmesdale. But Dimmesdale turned into a floppy, soggy, mush of fabric, unable to support himself. Chillingworth was still able to support himself, and properly chase after and acquire his goal. Dimmesdale was…
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He is a good man, but he is fearful of ruining his image by letting out his guilty secret. “Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him except it tempt him-yea, compel him, as it were- to add hypocrisy to sin?” (Hawthorne 47) This quote was a demand from Dimmesdale to Hester while she is on the scaffold being integrated to speak the guilty name of the one who accompanied her with the sin. Although, he is pleading to Hester to give the name of her fellow sinner, in reality he doesn’t really want her to reveal his identity. Remaining silent about the sin committed with Prynne and then giving the consequences for the silencer shows another form of hypocrisy from Dimmensdale. The people of the puritan society also play a hypocritical…
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The prison door is very dark in comparison to the rose bush next to it that “by a strange chance, has been kept alive in history; but whether it had merely survived out of the stern old wilderness, so long after the fall of the gigantic pines and oaks that originally overshadowed it”(34). The dark prison door is representative of the unrelenting Puritan laws that are in place at the time.The bright rose bush, an opposite of the door, represents forgiveness and decency that are still somewhat present; no matter what the circumstances are, there is always room for hope, and the rose bush is that hope. The most renowned symbol in Hawthorne’s book is the scarlet letter on Hester’s chest. As punishment for having an illegitimate child, Hester Prynne is not executed, the standard of the time, but is forced to wear a red letter “A” on her chest that represents adultery. A greater punishment than any prison sentence, the scarlet letter has “the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity , and inclosing her in a sphere by herself”(37). The contrasting colors of red and black on Hester’s dress show how the “A” has changed her literally and psychologically. The people to the right of Hester are talking about Hester and making appalling faces. The prison door was close to the marketplace, where she was going, but it seemed like an…
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Dimmesdale experiences a world of hurt inflicted by Chillingworth, and Hester is aware of it and doesn’t try to stop it. Consequently, the reader is unsure if there is still a connection between Hester and Dimmesdale. On the other hand, the two are linked by “... the iron link of mutual crime, which neither he nor she could break. Like all other ties, it brought along with it its obligations” (Hawthorne, 145). Dimmesdale helped Hester in numerous ways, yet she watches him face seven years of emotional and physical torture and pain and failed to return the favor. Dimmesdale was miserable after each sermon because his true thoughts and feelings could not be shared and expressed to the public. Hester differed in how she was serene through her isolation. Hester’s lack of action demonstrates how her personality became…
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The Scarlet Letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This essay discusses how Hester is a victim of her social pressure. She was punished for something she did to achieve her dream of having someone that loves her. Hester committed adultery with minister Dimmesdale and had a child with him, Pearl. Her punishment was to stand on the scaffold with her child and wear the letter A on her breast as a sign of her “crime”. Due to the strictures of the puritan society, Hester Prynne suffers from public shaming. She almost lost her only child, and was not able to openly love who she wanted.…
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In the beginning of this book we meet Hester Prynne, a beautiful young mother making her way from prison through a crowd of displeased Puritans. She finds herself displayed like a circus animal, amongst a silent and unforgiving crowd, on a scaffold commonly used for executions. She has a brilliantly embroidered Scarlet Letter “A” attached to her bosom, a curious punishment for the sin of adultery. The crowd, with the exception of that one young maiden, seems to think she deserved much more than a simple letter attached to her clothes. Death is the proper punishment for a scandal of this proportion! The Scarlet…
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They were secluded from one another, themselves and their community. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth endured differtent types of alienation and isolation and to various degrees. Hester is segregated from society. Dimmesdale felt alone due to the secrecy of his sin. Chillingworth surrendered himself to evil and gradually withers away.…
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He is commonly referred to throughout the book as the leech, which is derived from the medicinal use of leeches to suck the bad blood out of a sick patient, but also, in a deeper meaning, is for how Chillingworth sucks the guilt out of his patient (Dimmesdale) for his own benefit and the destruction of Dimmesdale. By leeching off of Dimmesdale, who is ‘sick’ with guilt, Chillingworth is extracting his revenge on both Hester and Dimmesdale, who had an affair together thinking that Chillingworth was dead. Since Chillingworth is a physician, and Dimmesdale is sick, they’ve spent time together and have discussed the theme of guilt and sin, such as stated when Chillingworth found a warped medical plant on the unmarked grave of a sinner, where Dimmesdale states, “... guilty as they may be, retaining nevertheless, a zeal for God’s glory and man’s welfare, they shrink from displaying themselves black and filthy in the view of men...” (Hawthorne, 128). Then after, Chillingworth retorts by saying “This disorder is a strange one; not so much in itself, nor as outwardly manifested...” (Hawthorne, 132). Chillingworth is discussing Dimmesdale’s sickness and how he’s showing the readers that he knows he’s dying of guilt, yet keeps Dimmesdale in the sick/guilty state so Chillingworth can leech off of his…
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During the treatment Chillingworth sees some wound or trouble in Dimmesdale's soul that is contributing to his declining health. One morning Chillingworth pushes aside Dimmesdale's shirt and reads the secret upon his heart. "Had a man seen old Roger Chillingworth, at that moment of his ectasty, he would have no need to ask how Satan comforts himself, when a precious human soul is lost to heaven, and won into his kingdom"(95). This is the climax point, where these two men become enemies and the secret unfolds. Chillingworth is described as a leech, because he is sucking the life out of Dimmesdale. "He dug into the poor clergyman's heart, like a miner searching for gold; or, rather, like a sexton delving a grave, possibly in quest of a jewel that had been buried on the dead man's bosom, but likely to find nothing save morality and corruption"(88). Chillingworth remains quiet about what he has found out. He sees Pearl, Hester, and Dimmesdale together at the scaffold where Hester made her statement at the beginning of the book. Dimmesdale express much hate towards Chillingworth for all of the tormenting. Hester tries to go talk to her husband to stop the tormenting, but Chillingworth refuses to stop. The truth must unfold. Election Day comes and Dimmesdale must make a speech. He can no longer keep the sin…
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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…
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Never taking account of the nature of Dimmesdale’s sin, he is enraged that his former wife, Hester had an affair with the reverend. In the book, “In a word, old Roger Chillingworth was a striking evidence of man’s faculty of transforming himself into a Devil… This unhappy person had effected such a transformation by devoting himself… heart a full of torture, and deriving his enjoyment thence, and adding fuel to those fiery tortures.” He is so consumed with his anger that he devotes all his time and effort as a retribution for the sin of his wife, transforming from human to pure evil. He manipulates Dimmesdale for over seven years while Hester stays silent about the fact that Chillingworth is her husband. Chillingworth never really takes an account of the nature of Dimmesdale's sin and this where good and evil clash together. Even though that sin goes against Puritan beliefs, it comes through actual love and compassion, which results in the birth of Pearl, a child born from sin. As the storyline progresses, Chillingworth becomes twisted and evil. He manipulates Dimmesdale, trying to bring him closer to death as his attempt for revenge. This leads to psychological and physical torture. He begins to whip himself and psychologically, he thinks that he was not good enough, so he thinks he should leave. Dimmesdale becomes weak internally and struggles with his guilt and begins to torture himself.…
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Every hero has to have their brutal beginnings before they blossom into their true hero status. For Hester Prynne, this was the constant critism and negative views the Puritan community held for Hester because of her commiting the crime of adultery, ultimately leading her to evolve into a stronger person. The townspeople feel like Hester’s sin deserves "At the very least…a hot iron on [her] forehead,” or even death. (Hawthorne, 53) Hester’s heroic charcteristics are first seen when she comes out of the prison. Every one expects Hester to be “dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud,” when she walks out , but instead she emerges with “a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed,” (55). Despite the harsh critisicm of the Puritan society, Hester does not allow herself to be influenced and show shame for her acts, like the community thinks she should. The critiscms of the town do not weaken Hester as a person, rather strengthen her to stand strong and accept her punishment with grace instead of shame. Hester also grew through the wearing of the letter “A” on her bosom. The letter was put on the bosom of Hester to inform the whole community of Hester’s sin. However, Hester embroidered the “A” “so fantastically…It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself,” (56). By making the letter look beautiful rather than shameful, like the towns intentions, Hester proves…
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Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his novel The Scarlet Letter, argues that the role of shame in society is not what keeps the citizens of that society pure and is possibly the worst type of punishment. Hawthorne supports his argument by demonstrating his perspective on shame through the rhetorical strategy of enthymeme given the major premise, minor premise, and conclusion. The author’s purpose is to persuade his audience that salvation can only be earned by being open about and true to what you are, which will lead to the feeling of no shame or guilt in life. The author evokes a cynical tone in order to persuade readers to accept his position that the role of shame in society acts as the worst punishment given to an individual of that society.…
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The main character, Hester Prynne, whose sin was adultery, kept the identity of her partner a secret and the identity of her husband a secret. Hester, as a result of her sin had to wear the scarlet letter A on her chest to remind her and the community of her sin. “When strangers looked curiously at the scarlet letter, ….they branded it fresh into her soul.”(p.59) The wearing of the letter also had an effect on Hester’s appearance. “Even the attractiveness of her person had undergone a similar change. It might be partly owing to the studied austerity of her dress and partly to the lack of demonstrations in her manners.….there seemed to be no longer any thing in Hester’s face for Love to dwell upon; nothing in Hester’s form, though majestic and statue-like, that Passion would ever dream of clasping its embrace; nothing in Hester’s bosom, to make it ever again the pillow of affection.”(p.112) Hester becomes an outcast of the community. Though she has everything she needs to take care of herself and her daughter. “ Lonely as was Hester’s situation, and without a friend on earth who dared to show himself, she, however, incurred no risk of want. She possessed an art that sufficed, even in a land that afforded comparatively little scope for its exercise, to supply food for her thriving infant and herself. It was the art… of needle work.” (p. 56) Her daughter is also a reminder of her sin.…
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