Hawthornes Scarlet Letter - Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale and the Scaffold Scenes :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter - Dimmesdale and the Scaffold Scenes In Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter, there atomic number 18 three very important scenes that all take place at the town hold up, a place of great shame in their exacting Puritan society. These scenes represent the progression of high-flown Arthur Dimmesdale over the course of the story. each scene involves him in some way and one can comfortably see that he has changed dramatically in all three. The first scaffold scene takes place in the very beginning of the story. Hester Prynne, a charr who has committed adultery and will not get to the father of her child, is obligate to stand upon the scaffold in shame for three hours in battlefront of a crowd of people. Dimmesdale, who is later revealed as the father, openly denies his sin and nevertheless so goes as far as telling Hester to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer, in order to make sure that nobody suspects him. While the c ondition doesnt make his guilt very obvious, he does give a few hints that suggest Dimmesdale does have some sort of hidden deep. In this scene, the Reverend shows his original strength of character, which he slowly loses over the course of the story. sevensome years later, in the middle of the night, Dimmesdale finally admits to his sin while rest on the scaffold, just as Hester did so very long ago. It has been take in away at him all this time and feels that he also must be punished, though he cannot bring himself to confess publicly. He even brands his chest with the same letter A that Hester has been forced to wear upon her clothing to show that she is an adulterer. In the third and final scaffold scene, Dimmesdale finally reveals his secret to the public. And as Pearl kissed his lips...a spell was broken, Dimmesdale conquers his guilt and dies right there on the scaffold with an open conscience. He also escapes