Dimmesdale: Someone from Above or Below? ... The Scarlet Letter's main character is noticed in the first chapters as Arthur Dimmesdale, the man who is responsible for the scarlet letter ever happening. ... Arthur Dimmesdale is a truly essential character to the Scarlet Letter, in that without him the scarlet letter wouldn't have been, and the novel never would have been written. ... This "rollercoaster- that Dimmesdale faces becomes his battle with fantasy and reality. ... Although Hester also finds a different way to look at a problem, Dimmesdale doesn't just look but acts ...

• Word Count: 818
• Approx Pages: 3

Hawthorne illustrates that the lack of responsibility is harmful and should be held with contempt through the character Arthur Dimmesdale, the unholy minister whose guilt of being an adulterer eventually kills him. ... Hester threatens Arthur just to get him to come out of hiding. Obviously, showing capriciousness this lack of obligation not only torments Dimmesdale in the long run, but Hester and Pearl, the daughter of Hester and Arthur. ... What Hawthorne is trying to show his readers through the variant beliefs of the townspeople is that Arthur Dimmesdale's lack of responsibility u...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Arthur Dimmesdale Dimmesdale is a scared man because he is Hester's lover but does not want to admit it. ... When Chillingworth opens Dimmesdale's shirt, he is overjoyed. ... He is not allowed into Dimmesdale soul as Dimmesdale tells him not to meddle in his personal affairs. ... The name Leech symbolizes what he is to Dimmesdale. ... This is because Dimmesdale had already confessed so Chillingworth had nothing to live for and his motive to do evil had faded with Dimmesdale's death. ...

• Word Count: 1619
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

Arthur Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is considered a very honorable person by almost everyone in the Puritan town. ... Adversely to the common opinion of the townspeople, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is not very honorable and does not deserve any praise whatsoever. ... Arthur Dimmesdale is also a masochist. ... Furthermore, Arthur Dimmesdale seems to believe that the injuring of his body is supposed to purify himself from the sin he committed, without the punishment of other townspeople muttering about him and using him as an example of what ...

• Word Count: 676
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Using plot points, dialogue, or other specific descriptions from the text, pick out at least three places from the first half of the novel (through "The Leech") that lead the reader to believe what is ultimately true: that Arthur Dimmesdale has a very big secret. Hawthorne gives the reader subtle hints throughout the first half of the novel that may lead to the identification of Hester's lover and Pearl's father, Arthur Dimmesdale, before he publicly announces his true identity near the end of the novel. ... This accusation alone hints greatly at Pearl's father bein...

• Word Count: 582
• Approx Pages: 2

In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses three scenes on the scaffold to emphasize suffering and torment in Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. ... Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is tormented throughout the story and in all three scenes with the scaffold. ... Dimmesdale's torture is stretched throughout the story in all three scaffold scenes. ... This serves as an alternate way of branding the A into Dimmesdale's mind. ... All in all, Arthur Dimmesdale suffers the ultimate punishment for his sin. ...

• Word Count: 598
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The Metamorphosis of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are many characters that transform; one of them is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. ... 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 because he is a puritan minister. ... (Page 65) This is the first scaffold scene Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is not showing any signs of guilt at this point, he is still fairly the same and has not began to inflict punishment on himself or so it appears. ... Arthur Dimmesda...

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

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and his friend John Wilson are introduced at the scaffold begging Hester to reveal the father of the baby so that he may suffer just as Hester does. Ironically, it turns out that Arthur Dimmesdale was the father of the baby and he and Hester knew it. ... In this novel, an anguished Arthur Dimmesdale struggles to quiet his conscience and withhold the secret of his sin from being known. ... The novel begins to seek into the heart and conscience of Arthur Dimmesdale when Roger Chillingworth questions him about his thoughts on sinners and their secrets. ... In the novel,...

• Word Count: 2338
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

In the novel "The Scarlet Letter", the author Nathaneil Hawthorn's depiction of the two male characters, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, emphasizes the moral problems of the seventeenth century puritan society. ... Arthur Dimmesdale, the Reverent and the protagonists" lover, was not a very powerful character. ... Hawthorne also marks the power that Dimmesdale gets when he is preaching which contradicts his actual weak character. ... Dimmesdale's health was lead to rapid deterioration, so he went to visit Roger Chillingworth, the real husband of the character Hester, and on...

• Word Count: 328
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale has a difficult time finding a way to relieve his sin. ... It is the one place where Dimmesdale felt liberated to say anything he wished. ... It was the one place where Dimmesdale could find complete reconciliation. ... Dimmesdale is tortured by his silence. ... What horrifies Arthur is not his feeling of guilt, but his inability to feel the guilt which he believes he ought to feel, " If, in all these past seven years,"I could recall one instant of peace or hope, I would yet endure for the sake of that earnest of Heaven&#x...

• Word Count: 723
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The sin of adultery affects Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, as well as the Physician Roger Chillingsworth. ... After many years, she earned the respect of many Puritans through her craftsmen work and sincerity of her silence; unlike her partner, and Pearls father, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Additionally, the "A" affects the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale emotionally, as well as, physically. ... These complications that lead Chillingsworth to live with Dimmesdale, as his physician. ... Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and the Physician Roger Chillingsworth were all...

• Word Count: 462
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale struggles to overcome sin, guilt, and public shame in Puritan society. Arthur Dimmesdale reveals his guilt and shame towards the end of the novel when Hester and Pearl stand with him on the scaffold while he confesses his sin to the townspeople. ... Dimmesdale's mentality is affected severely by shame. ... Chillingworth begins questioning Dimmesdale, but Dimmesdale refused to confess any of his sins and got angry. ... Dimmesdale needed to confess his sins to the townspeople on the scaffold, and the end result of con...

• Word Count: 939
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Dimmesdale, a key character in Nathaniel Hawthorne's the Scarlet Letter, had to face. ... At the beginning of the novel, Dimmesdale has established quite a reputation for himself. ... In further developing Dimmesdale's character, Hawthorne portrays him as a hypocrite. ... The fact that Dimmesdale is a hypocrite causes him to experience increased torment due to his guilt. ... Similarly, there are also some things that go on that are out of Dimmesdale's control. ...

• Word Count: 882
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale has committed the sin of adultery with Hester Prynne. ... Dimmesdale's first point of decent is his physical health. ... Dimmesdale doesn't respond well to this and Chillingworth begins to suspect Dimmesdale of hiding something. Chillingworth continues to do this to Dimmesdale. ... Chillingworth then plays mind games with Dimmesdale which eventually leads to Dimmesdale's mental breakdown....

• Word Count: 735
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

The sunshine is the love of a man (Arthur Dimmesdale) and it does just what Pearl says - it runs and hides itself from the scarlet letter. ... He knows about his wife and Arthur and he is plotting revenge on Arthur. ... Arthur and Hester's love cannot exist because of personal reasons as well. Hester wears the scarlet letter, so Arthur can't be with her or it might destroy his reputation. ... In a more perfect world, Arthur, Hester, and Little Pearl would have left Boston and made a new life for themselves in England. ...

• Word Count: 381
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Crucible by Arthur Miller portray characters committing sins throughout the novel. ... John Proctor, a farmer in The Crucible, and Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister in The Scarlet Letter, both have similar experiences with adultery, but Proctor seems to approach his sin in a more honorable manner than Dimmesdale. ... Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister and adulterer, demonstrates his weakness of character and fear he has of the consequences he may have to face if he admits to engaging in adultery with Hester Prynne. ... Dimmesdale health begins t...

• Word Count: 689
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

According to Anne Marie MacNamara, Arthur Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter goes through several stages of spiritual growth; preparation, communication, transformation and finally revelation. ... Dimmesdale knew this and knew the consequences for what he had done. ... Dimmesdale already knew how the people felt about the whole situation, so to communicate with them about it made Dimmesdale very nervous. ... Roger Chillingworth had moved into Dimmesdale's house to help him and also to find out if Dimmesdale really was the guilty partner. ... Every one was here to hear Dimmesdale give ...

• Word Count: 1813
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

Reverend Dimmesdale and his physician, Roger Chillingworth, experience several transformations in their character. ... Nevertheless, his ability to manipulate makes it possible for Dimmesdale to consider him a confidant, thus making it possible for Chillingworth to explore Dimmesdale and use him as he wants. ... When Roger asks Dimmesdale, "You would tell me, then, that I know all?"... Hawthorne describes the physician's intentions with Arthur Dimmesdale mentioning he " strove to go deep into his patient's bossom, delving among his principles, prying into his recollections, and pr...

• Word Count: 699
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale make poor decisions repeatedly because of lack of insight and uncontrolled emotions such as anger and fear. ... She commits the sin of adultery with a minister, Arthur Dimmesdale and has a child, Pearl. ... When Chillingworth finds out about Hester's sin of adultery, he decides to take revenge against Arthur Dimmesdale. ... The minister, Arthur Dimmesdale also makes a bad choice that led him to a miserable life. ... Dimmesdale has an affair with Hester. ...

• Word Count: 1002
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The characters John Proctor, Hester Pryne, and Arthur Dimmesdale are characters who are influenced by their storys society or environment exposure. ... She did not find her husband sufficient for love because of his age and decided that Arthur was the man for her. ... That making her want Arthur to be in the picture with her so they can be as a family. ... Arthur Dimmesdale, the reverend in The Scarlet Letter, is pressured that being a minister is bad when it comes to commiting adultry or having any sexual relations with any one. ... Roger Chillingworth was trying to k...

• Word Count: 616
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

Of these characters, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is the character portrayed as the most weak and unnoble. Despite this portrayal Dimmesdale was a stronger character than given credit for. ... We first see Dimmesdale portrayed as a nervous and sensitive individual. Despite his outer appearance, inside Dimmesdale is a very stable, strong person. ... Dimmesdale was not courageous in his actions in the story but strong. ...

• Word Count: 475
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

The characters of Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth illustrate the negative effects of secrecy. ... Analysis * Infant Pearl reaches her arms towards Dimmesdale at the end of his speech, in which he implored Hester to name the man who made her pregnant.Pearl reaches her hand out toward Dimmesdale? ... This is especially significant because it demonstrates how much responsibility Hester has taken on, and how completely she has isolated both she and her daughter from Arthur Dimmesdale. ... For example, Hester and Dimmesdale commit adultery and continue to meet in the dark forest. Dimme...

• Word Count: 1015
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale committed adultery, but when his mistress, Hester Prynne, became pregnant he remained quiet. ... Although this is not that bad compared to the pain and torture Dimmesdale goes through. ... Not the sin itself caused this pain to Dimmesdale, but the fact that he could talk of it with no one and revealing it to the public would ruin him. ...

• Word Count: 358
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: High School

Arthur Dimmesdale: a modern man caught within the realm of the puritans. ... Dimmesdale is hiding in fear as he travels his path to reconciliation. ... These words show that Dimmesdale now doubts his own faith. ... Chillingworth now knows that Dimmesdale is his "bitterest" enemy. I think that Chillingworth knowing that Dimmesdale is the one that loves Hester plays a big part in Dimmesdale breaking down faster towards the end of the novel. ...

• Word Count: 1115
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister, stays quiet about this affair in fear that the society will similarly disown him. ... Dimmesdale quietly fades over time, his energy spent because of the heavy burden he has carried through the years. Dimmesdale explains that feels miserable playing the dichotic roles of sinner and minister (p. 174). ... When Dimmesdale is the reader's eyes however, the town becomes much more frenzied. ... On page 231 to show the uncertainty and fear that Dimmesdale sees in the world. ...

• Word Count: 890
• Approx Pages: 4