Tim Rezendes
AP English Language
2/12/10
Scarlet Letter Essay 1
Dimmesdale’s Torture
Dimmesdale’s tortured soul and deteriorated body is a sight deserving of pity. Throughout the novel he is tormented by both himself and those he surrounded himself with, this agony began with his original sin and continued all the way to his unfortunate end. Dimmesdale’s anguish was especially poignant because of his occupation and his personality.
Dimmesdale’s vocation as the town priest in the wildly theocratic society that is Boston prevents him from professing his sin openly; therefore, his torment becomes much more poignant. When a person commits such a serious sin it is only human nature to want to confess and repent, Dimmesdale cannot do this because his priesthood prevents him to. Dimmesdale takes a utilitarian approach to his retribution; he believes that in sacrificing himself he will be doing the best for the greatest amount of people. He reasoning is displayed when he proclaims, "Guilty as they may be, retaining, nevertheless, a zeal for God's glory and man's welfare, they shrink from displaying themselves black and filthy in the view of men; because … no good can be achieved by them" (Miller 120). Dimmesdale is very much like Jesus; Dimmesdale is willing to keep his sin private in order to prevent society from having to suffer the agony of losing their leader while Jesus was willing to take on the sins of all of us so that we would not be condemned to a life of eternal suffering. From his original sin all the way through the remainder of his life, until his final minutes, Dimmesdale stayed true to his vocation and his opinions by not revealing his sin. Dimmesdale’s ability to stay true to the people that he had been preaching to causes his suffering to be all the more worse. The poignancy of Dimmesdale’s torment is accentuated by his priesthood, which calls on him to profess his sins while he feels he cannot without compromising the society in which it is his duty to serve. This vicious cycle that has engulfed Dimmesdale is nearly impossible for him to escape. Dimmesdale’s personality further increases the poignancy of his agony.
Dimmesdale’s personality lends itself well to the aspect of punishment, he is a man that knows when he is wrong and feels completely terrible about it. What is unique about his situation is that Dimmesdale has Chillingworth constantly reminding him of his sin and attempting to make his misery worse and worse. Dimmesdale is like Gen Noonan, if Gen was to ever do something wrong all it would take for a punishment would be to make her wrongdoing known. Now, Chillingworth’s constant prodding of Dimmesdale would be like a teacher giving Gen detention for a month when all a teacher would have to do is tell Gen that he or she was disappointed. Dimmesdale’s courageous and kind hearted personality is to be applauded and sympathized by the audience while it is misunderstood by society. Not one member of society is able to be sympathetic towards Dimmesdale because nobody knows his situation. This brings us back to the concept of a vicious cycle; the vicious cycle is a recurring theme that constantly inhibits Dimmesdale from confessing his sins. Dimmesdale’s attempt to do what is good for the greatest amount of people is his tragic flaw. Dimmesdale never once considers himself and he pays for it with his life.
From Dimmesdale’s original sin to the time of his death he is a static character. He never wanted to compromise the well being of the society he loved. His occupation as a priest and his personality made his punishment especially poignant. Dimmesdale is a character that is to be sympathized; he is the unsung hero of Boston. Nobody knew the extent of his suffering for them and he was never willing to tell them. Dimmesdale is the epitome of Christian virtues, the society he loved made his suffering worse by admiring him yet his love for them never changed.