Free Essay on Nathaniel Hawthornes Scarlet Letter - Three Scaffold Scenes :: Scarlet Letter essays

Three Scaffold scenes - Progression of Dimmesdale  In The reddened Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays Arthur Dimmesdale as a troubled individual. In him lies the central affair of the book. Dimmesdales soul is torn between two opposing forces his heart, his love for freedom and his passion for Hester Prynne, and his head, his knowledge of Puritanism and its denial of fleshly love. He has committed the sin of fornication but cannot seek divine forgiveness, believing as the Puritans did that sinners received no grace. His dilemma, his struggle to cope with sin, manifests itself in the three scaffold scenes depicted in The Scarlet Letter. These scenes form a progression through which Dimmesdale at first denies, then accepts reluctantly, and in the long run conquers his sin.   During Hester Prynnes three-hour ignominy, Dimmesdale openly denies his sin. Hawthorne introduces Dimmesdale as a being who felt himself quite astray and at a loss in the pathway of human existence (64). The author made it obvious that a grim secret lies hidden in the depths of Dimmesdales soul. This secret, however, does not reveal itself immediately, since Dimmesdale hides it from the closely watching townsfolk. In addition, he magnifies his own denial of his sin when he charges Hester to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer(65). By by design speaking to Hester as if the sinner were not himself, the pastor makes sure that nobody suspects him. One may also interpret Dimmesdales speech as a pourboire to Hester not to name him. He feels he must add hypocrisy to sin in order to keep his standing in the town. He thinks that if the town finds out about his sin, they will never forgive him, much like his belief system tells him that God will never forgive him. So capital is his relief when he finds that she will not speak that he stands in awe of the wondrous military group and generosity of a womans heart(66). Despite an inwards wish for his sin to be discovered, Dimmesdale feels better knowing that Hester will not willingly expose him. In this scene in front of the town, Dimmesdale shows his original strength of character, which will diminish along the course of the book.   In the middle of the night, seven years after Hesters punishment, Dimmesdale holds a vigil on the scaffold where he finally accepts his sin. The battle within Dimmesdale between Remorse, which dogged him everywhere and Cowardice, which invariably drew him back(144) leads to a temporary compromise in his midnight vigil.