The Scarlet Letter characters struggle to accept their own personal identities. Hester embodies the scarlet letter‚ while Dimmesdale tries to break his stereotypical religious identity. By wearing the scarlet letter‚ Salem publically shames Hester. If she leaves the town‚ then she could remove the A‚ but instead she stays. She could go away with her daughter Pearl and have a completely normal life. She refuses to leave because the letter has become her identity‚ and she uses its power. Some people
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Puritan community forces her into a life where she is ostracized and shunned. While Hester accepts her sin and accepts the consequence for her actions‚ it is not clear whether she believes she has actually committed a sin. In a conversation with Dimmesdale about their affair‚ Hester says‚ “What we did had a consecration of its own. We felt it so! We said so to each other. Hast thou forgotten it?” (Hawthorne‚ Chapter 17) Hester may have accepted the punishment for a sin she does not believe she fully
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Chillingworth establishes himself as the town physician‚ upon whom the townsfolk look with both respect of his knowledge and fear of his eccentric‚ bitter demeanor. Soon‚ the townsfolk request that Chillingworth look after the well-being of Arthur Dimmesdale‚ the depressed town reverend‚ and determine what is causing his inner darkness. Chillingworth quickly discovers that Dimmesdale’s melancholy is a result of guilt from having sinned‚ namely by sleeping with Hester and causing her pregnancy. Learning
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Hester‚ Dimmesdale‚ Chillingworth‚ and the Puritan community itself‚ all display sin and hypocrisy through their words and actions. Hawthorne begins the novel by talking about the Puritan community and its very first‚ two landmarks‚ which are a “prison” and a “cemetery”. The prison is a sign of the downfall of the community’s men‚ regardless of their good intentions and
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committing and being accused of a sin. By the time the second scaffold scene approaches‚ seven years later‚ the reader should know that Hester’s ’partner in crime’ is the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. Thus far in the novel‚ Dimmesdale has kept his sin a secret from society. During the second scaffold scene‚ Reverend Dimmesdale ventured out in the night to the scaffold in seek of forgiveness from God. He hoped to reveal himself to the public‚ however "No eye could see him‚ save that ever-wakeful one which
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name of the mysterious lover was not yet revealed‚ Chillingworth changes his identity to mask the details of his past and pursuit “a new purpose; dark‚ it is true” as he lusts for revenge (Hawthorne‚ 72). Chillingworth takes an interest in Reverend Dimmesdale and‚ using his European science and native science
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Puritan era. This novel tells the tale of Hester Prynne‚ the bearer of the scarlet letter “A”‚ and the Reverend Dimmesdale‚ the man who commits adultery with her‚ and their struggles with guilt‚ sin‚ and atonement. Hester and the minister Dimmesdale must remain secretive in order to protect one another‚ while her vengeful husband Chillingworth remains secretive in order to torture Dimmesdale. These secrets cause the group to experience much pain both physically and emotionally and also create a figurative
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Pearl is a complicated symbol of an act of love. People view Pearl in different ways. Dimmesdale sees Pearl as the "freedom of a broken law"; Hester sees her as the living proof of their sin; and the community sees her as the result of the devil’s work. She is the scarlet letter who reminds Hester of her sin‚ adultery. Pearl has a wild imagination
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age. In chapter 1-4 of the Scarlet Letter it states that Chillingworth did admit he was wrong for forcing Hester to marry him even tho he knew she didn’t love him. Chillingworth also causes permanent damage to Hester by trying to seek revenge on Dimmesdale the father of Pearl Hester’s
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Entry 1: Today while I was with Bellingham‚ Wilson‚ and Dimmesdale‚ Pearl and Hester showed up. Everyone began to tease Pearl by calling her a bird and a demon-child. They also ask her why she was allowed to keep her child. Wilson tries to test her child‚ who is only three-years-old‚ about religious subjects. Hester begged Dimmesdale to talk to Pearl and her child. Dimmesdale says that God sent Pearl and that the child was seemingly meant to be both a blessing and a curse. This did convince Bellingham
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