... In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many characters that transform; one of them is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale committed a great sin of the puritan society, he slept with another mans wife and Hester Prynne became pregnant. Hester was punished for her sin but Arthur Dimmesdale had not admitted to it, so he lives with this guilt and it is much worst for him ... , perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for himself--the bitter, but wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips!" (Page 65) This is the first scaffold scene Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is n...

• Word Count: 1308
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... scenes, Hester Prynne stands alone under direct scrutiny from the public. By the second of such scenes, the story is in the middle of its development, and the guilt of Arthur Dimmesdale has fully developed. Though he is unable to confess to the townspeople, he tries to soothe some of his inner pain by revealing his secret to the night. It is ... anguish of his life had returned upon him - (137). Though she is but a young little girl, Pearl illuminates the limited nature of Dimmesdale's confession, and she solidifies his inability to reveal himself to the town. Examining Hester Prynne, A...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... to wear a scarlet letter as a symbol of her adultery. Hester's life is torn between two men, her husband, Roger Chillingworth, and Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister and father of her child. Chillingworth had sent Hester ahead of him to New England and did not follow or correspond with ... at the thought of his betrayal, the reverend Dimmesdale is crying out to Hester to reveal his name. The clergyman, Mr. Wilson tells Dimmesdale to speak out to Hester and urges him to, "Exhort her to confess the truth!" (Hawthorne, 48) Reverend Dimmesdale, looking deep into her eyes tells her, ... "Be not...

• Word Count: 1498
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School