The Conflict Between Dimmesdale And Chillingworth

Eros vs. Thanatos: The Conflict between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth

A look out the window renders him paralyzed with fear. An elevation that surpasses the clouds obscures his view of the bottom. A fear of heights, a possibility of death, a wailing conscience fail to restrain him. He jumps, and is relieved. This unconscious human desire for death is one component of Freud’s psychoanalytical theory, the concept of the death drive. Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, mentioned in his later works the existence of a repressed force which compels humans to pursue death and “return to an inanimate state” (Plank 22). Freud labelled this force the death drive. However, in opposition to the death drive, Freud asserted that the dominating pleasure
Having committed adultery with Hester, Dimmesdale is plagued by a festering secret, to which ordinary men with “hearts holding such miserable secrets … [would] yield up… with a joy unutterable” (128). However, Dimmesdale is unable to confess, and thus, is burdened by “…[his] own unutterable torment” (129). Despite being aware that his physical deterioration is correlated to his inability to alleviate himself of his mental anguish, Dimmesdale consciously suppresses his human desire for survival and, contrary, possess a hunger for self-destruction, an aspect of Freud’s death drive. Moreover, as Dimmesdale’s struggle to repress his sin worsens, he exhibits an increasingly lifeless attitude. Upon meeting Dimmesdale during his return through the forest, Hester noticed that Dimmesdale displayed “a listlessness in his gait, as if he saw no reason for taking one step further… [and] would have been glad… to fling himself down… and lie there passive forevermore” (185). Through his physical movement, Dimmesdale shows reluctance in shouldering the responsibilities in life, as evinced by his lack of motivation to advance forward. Instead, he finds solace in the thought of being static and taking upon a sedentary state. The forest atmosphere, which was cloaked by a “gray twilight into which the clouded sky and heavy foliage had darkened the noontide” (185) and
The negative portrayals of Chillingworth and Dimmesdale and their respective flaws of the pleasure principle and death drive symbolize the inherent incompatibility and mutual destruction of American science and religion. Hawthorne further uses their deaths – Chillingworth “shriveled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight” (254) and Dimmesdale’s simple tombstone – to indicate the minimalistic impact of their respective areas. Despite attempting to deviate from European culture, 19th century America failed to create a land of opportunity, and, contrarily, was bound by its European past. The Scarlet Letter itself is a testament as Hawthorne draws influence from Puritans escaping from persecution in Europe who came to America only to commit the same atrocities they faced in the Salem Witch Trials. Thus, while 19th century American colonists were separated by an entire ocean from their European ancestors, American and European culture were separated by a mere glass