Transformation Of The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Austin Chang Arteaga/Morales AP English Language and Composition/ Period 6 2 October 2015 Transformation of Dimmesdale In the novel, â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale, a highly respected reverend in the puritan society of seventeenth century Boston, commits adultery impregnates Hester Prynne. This sin that Dimmesdale commits causes his internal conflicts, which results in his self- punishments as he begins to see only darkness and no more light. This theme of sin and its ability to transform an individual is displayed through the multiple scaffold scenes within the novel as it slowly eats away Dimmesdale. In the beginning of the novel, when Hester Prynne is on display on the scaffold for the sins that she has committed, the community refers to Dimmesdale as a godlike figure. â€Å"That the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, take it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his congregation,†( Hawthorne 49) expresses that the community views Dimmesdale as a holy person that has not indulged in sin and even at the last scaffold scene, he is still seen as a pure figure. At this point, Dimmesdale has yet to feel any guilt of his sinful act and still sees light. Ironically, Dimmesdale approaches Hester and tells her, â€Å"What can thy silence do for him, except it tempts him-yea, compel him, as it were-to add hypocrisy to sin? 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