In almost every story, conflict plays a central role. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter is no exception. One of the characters who experiences conflict in Hawthorne's book is the minister Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale's struggle was not with another person though. His struggle was with himself.
The cause of Dimmesdale's struggles are the same as Hester Prynne's. They committed adultery and hester bore a child. Dimmesdale was a very respected minister and held strong religious beliefs. One of these beliefs was that adultery was very wrong. He could not bring himself to tell those who held him in such high regard the truth about what he had done. This was the beginning of what would cause immense pain to Demmesdale throughout the book.
Later in the book, Dimmesdale becomes sick. His sickness does not have any physical origins, but are caused by his growing guilt and emotional anguish. Dimmesdale's condition becomes increasingly worse throughout the book. Many of the villagers begin to fear for his life.
At the end of the book, Dimmesdale finally resolves his conflict. He reveals his connection to both Hester and his daughter Pearl to the entire village. Immediately afterwards, he dies, but he dies with a clear conscience.
Dimmesdale's struggle may have had the same origins as Hester's, but they did not play out the same way. While Hester bore her sin publicly, Dimmesdale bor his privately. While Hester grew to be a stronger person because of her struggle, Dimmesdale grew weaker and weaker because of his. He bore his secret shame for seven years and ultimately died because of it.
