Character Analysis Of The Scarlet Letter Essay, Research Paper

Most people believe that there exists at least one person in the world who matches their personality exactly. Others believe that for every person there is an exact opposite or an evil twin so to speak. In the case of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, they fall somewhere in between these two definitions. Both were sinners, and yet the people glorified Dimmesdale and cast Hester away, only because they were misinformed. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are, at first glance totally different, however upon closer inspection, they become increasingly more similar.

Lifestyle is a trait everyone shares, however the trait itself can vary from person to person. Hester lived a life of exile and seclusion. The townspeople no longer wanted her. She was representative of sin and for that she had to be cleansed from the great Puritan body that was Boston. Dimmesdale, however, lived the life of a hero. He was, in the opinion of the people, the closest thing anyone of them had to God. He was often showered with praise and loved by the community. They did lead similar lifestyles, in the

respect that they were both living a life based on keeping secrets. Hester was keeping secret the fact that Chillingworth was her husband. Chillingworth was trying to learn the identity of Pearl s father under the semblance of a friend and helper, and had availed himself of the opportunities thus afford to tapering with the delicate springs or Mr. Dimmsdale s nature” (Hawthorne 173). Dimmesdale kept secret the fact that he was Pearl s father and Hester s accomplice in sin . Keeping the secret began to degrade Dimmesdale s health, however even at his weakest, Dimmsdale s secret was not revealed to the public (Hawthorne 285).

All people share character traits, however much like lifestyle, the traits themselves can be as varied as the colors of the rainbow. In Hester s case, her main character trait was her submission to the punishment of the A , however through this submission, she became strong. After seven years of abuse,

she learned to live with the shame. She wore the A even after there was general acceptance of her in the colony. She also became caring. She made clothes for many people and always helped the needy. Dimmesdale begins the story as a hypocritical being, and he remains so until the end of the book. He

engaged in the very same sin as Hester, but he makes her the topic of every sermon, and preaches to her about the wrongnesses of evil. He does however gain some compassion towards Hester s situation, and he does everything he can to help her, including convincing the church to allow Hester to keep Pearl.

To most people, trustworthiness is highly regarded. Hester and Dimmesdale both show that they can be trusted with their respective secrets. Hester is asked by Chillingworth in the beginning if she would keep the fact that they were married a secret, and she agrees. This secret is carried with her for seven years, until she shares it with Dimmesdale because of his health. Due to this silence, however, she becomes silent in all parts of life, and shuts herself off from society. Dimmesdale s secret became deadly because of

Chillingworth s madness with which he sought the prize of knowing the father, and he later went insane. However, had Hester not kept Chillingworth s secret, more shame would have been brought on her, and the odd friendship of Chillingworth and Dimmesdale would never have come to pass. While there were many downsides to keeping the secret from everyone, there were also some good effects.

Lifestyle, character, honesty, each by itself representing a trait that is looked upon by humanity with differing opinions. However, when one is combined with another, it causes one to think that a person with that combination of traits should be morally good. Nathaniel Hawthorne shows that this is not always the case with his characters of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. While they do exhibit these qualities, they go against the norm of society in a way that is thought provoking and enlightening.