Scarlet Letter Short Paper

Scott Pero
AP English Language-Mr. George
February 11, 2010
Why is Dimmesdale’s punishment so poignant for him,
and why does he believe it to be a blessing from God?
The Reverend’s Retribution

When someone commits a wrongdoing, that person is punished. There are always consequences for a sin or unjust act. Punishment itself can be anything, from incarceration to death. In The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the character Roger Chillingworth inflicts a terrible punishment on Reverend Dimmesdale, the man who committed adultery with his wife, Hester. Dimmesdale’s punishment is especially poignant for him because Chillingworth designed it so that it would perpetuate itself in a vicious, never-ending cycle of torture and pain.

Dimmesdale committed the sin of Adultery with Hester Prynne, Chillingworth’s wife. Hester admits to their sin and bears her punishment, the scarlet letter ‘A’ on her chest, accordingly. Dimmesdale keeps his sin a secret, and thus the endless cycle of punishment begins: “He[Dimmesdale] had yielded himself, with deliberate choice, as he had never done before, to what he knew was deadly sin. And the infectious poison of that sin had been thus rapidly diffused throughout his moral system” (Hawthorne 199). Dimmesdale despises sin, and yet, it has worked its way through his entire being, consuming him in hatred. His sin eats away at the edges of his soul, pestering him day and night. Dimmesdale knows he has to repent, but he cannot. The way to repent is to confess his sin, and that he cannot do.

The people of Boston look up to Dimmesdale, venerating him as the holiest of men. If Dimmesdale confesses, it will devastate the faith of the people. So much of their faith lies with Dimmesdale. If their object of devotion falls, their faith will shatter. Dimmesdale, the holy reverend that he is, holds the Christian faith as the most important thing there is. His main priority is the people that follow him: “‘Lost as my own soul is, I would still do what I may for other human souls! I dare not quit my post, though an unfaithful sentinel, whose sure reward is death and dishonor, when his dreary watch shall come to an end!’” (178). Dimmesdale believes that serving the people is more important than confessing his sin. The priesthood places him in a sticky situation; he has a responsibility to his congregation, and must uphold their faith, but at the same time, he sees himself as unfaithful, and longs to free himself of the pain.

Dimmesdale then feels he has to say something. He cannot confess his sin, because that would utterly cripple the people, so he must relieve himself some other way. Dimmesdale tells his congregation in his sermon that he is despicable and detestable: “They heard it all, and did but reverence him the more…he had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood. And yet, by the constitution of his nature, he loved the truth, and loathed the lie, as few men ever did. Therefore…he loathed his miserable self!” (131). Dimmesdale thinks he is the vilest sinner. The people, however, see him as the pinnacle of all virtue. They see Dimmesdale’s sermon as an act of humility, which only venerates him more in their eyes. This causes a great disparity between Dimmesdale’s opinion of himself and the opinion of the people: “‘I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am!’” (172). Dimmesdale is a hypocrite. He is believed to be a perfect, sinless man, but in reality he has sinned greater than others. This hypocrisy pains Dimmesdale to no end, only furthering his torment. The people love him more, and he only hates himself more because of it.

Even more painful, Dimmesdale believes his suffering to be the will of God. He sees all of his pain and torment as a blessing from the Lord. Dimmesdale, as he is dying upon the scaffold, praises God for his blessing: “‘He[God] is merciful! He hath proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions. By giving me this burning torture to bear upon my breast! By sending yonder dark and terrible old man, to keep the torture always at red-heat!...Had either of these agonies been wanting, I had been lost forever!’” (229). To Dimmesdale, God has a plan for him, and his punishment is a part of that plan. If Dimmesdale can endure and accept the torment, he can be saved. It is Dimmesdale’s cross to bear, his rite of passage into Heaven.

Dimmesdale also recognizes the confidentiality in his suffering. He thinks his punishment is a blessing because he only needs to tell God of his sins, and no one else: “‘The heart, making itself guilty of such secrets, must perforce hold them, until the day when all hidden things shall be revealed. Nor have I so read or interpreted Holy Writ, as to understand that the disclosure of human thoughts and deeds, then to be made, is intended as part of the retribution’” (119). Like John Proctor from The Crucible, Dimmesdale sees that there need only be a confession between a man and his God. He sees his pain as a blessing because, since he cannot tell another human soul, he can only commune with God.

Chillingworth was a nefarious old man to exact such a vengeance on Dimmesdale because it continued in an endless cycle. Dimmesdale hated his sin, but could not speak a word of it. When he tried to hint at it, people only loved him more, increasing his self-hatred. Dimmesdale’s internalized pain built up until it was too much: he died once he confessed his ignominy to the town.

Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam Dell, 1986