Inconcevable truth
“Even thus much of truth would save me! But, now, it is all falsehood! - all emptiness!- all death” Dimmesdale is living a lie, there is no truth in his life. The people are taking him for someone he is not and only Hester really knows the truth behind his shadow. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale have gone against Puritan law and committed the sin of adultery. But unlike Hester, Arthur hid his secret and was not honest with the people of his society or himself. In the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne the theme of truth has great importance. Even if it affects social status or it leads to revenge, truth is the safest lie. By expressing truth Hester is set free, leaving Dimmesdale and Chillingworth to deteriorate from their falseness. Having committed a moral sin with Hester, Dimmesdale holds the truth inside. Being the reverend of the Puritan church, he has moral obligations to be true to the people, yet Dimmesdale decides to keep his sin inside, defying Puritan providence. When he preaches he preaches of sin but by doing so he is a hypocrite. Dimmesdale speaks to Hester, “ What can a ruined soul, like mine, effect towards the redemption of other souls?- or a polluted soul towards their purification
?” (131 ) His soul is ruined by holding in his secret and he is preaching when he is really a sinner. Due to his untold sin he is dying a living death as his body begins to become pale and weak. Even his enemy, Chillingworth, sees his pain, “... It must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain,..., than to cover it all up in his heart” (118). Chillingworth notices that Dimmesdales illness goes beyond common medicine and is deeper like something eating away at his soul. By not letting go of the truth, Dimmesdale is self imprisoned and eventually dies from his guilt. The causes of death and freedom in The Scarlet Letter are truth. Hester is free of her own guilt by being publicly ostracized and not hiding her sin, on the other hand, Dimmesdale lets go of no part of his sin until his soul becomes weak with guilt . When asked by Hester if Dimmesdale has found peace he replies, “ None! Nothing but despair!..., What else could I look for, being what I am, and leading such a life as mine” (131). Hester was honest with herself and society and took the shame she knew she deserved, and by doing that she enabled herself to live happily. Chillingworth taking revenge on Hester and Dimmesdale eventua
Some topics in this essay:
Hester Dimmesdale,
Dimmesdale Chillingworth,
Nathaniel Hawthorne,
Scarlet Letter,
,
Arthur Dimmesdale,
Hester Arthur,
scarlet letter,
hester dimmesdale,
sin adultery,
dimmesdale chillingworth,
committed sin adultery,
sin adultery hester,
gone puritan law,
committed sin,
letter truth,
adultery hester,
strength truth,
puritan law,
scarlet letter truth,
hester truth,
Join now to see the rest of the essay!
Approximate Word count = 827
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
Example Essays Home
