Moral Ambiguity Of Reverend Dimmesdale In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne brings forth the idea that all sins are not equal, and will not be punished equally by people or by God. Hester Prynne, having a baby during the time her husband had been missing for two years, has clearly committed adultery and is forced to wear a beautifully embroidered letter A on her chest at all times. She is harshly ridiculed by the citizens, yet it makes her a stronger person in the end. However, Prynne repeatedly refuses to reveal the name of her lover to the town, and therefore he decided to torment himself in penance for his sin; forcing himself to become gradually weaker. It is for this reason that her lover is a morally ambiguous character-he is neither purely good or purely evil.
Hester Prynne’s lover, Reverend Dimmesdale, is highly beloved to the town and unable to commit any sins in their eyes. Dimmesdale being far too afraid to confess his sin to his people that have so much faith in him and their church, keeping his secret entirely to himself and paying the ultimate price for it. The citizens of the town see him only as the perfect reverend with the voice of an angel who preached only the words of god. Dimmesdale wishes to confess, but is far too weak-willed to do so. Dimmesdale is the ultimate morally ambiguous …show more content…
When Dimmesdale finally confesses, he becomes more good than evil and Chillingworth loses his hold over him. Dimmesdale will be punished the same as Hester by God because he confesses, however the people refuse to believe that he has ever done anything wrong and continue to say he was the perfect reverend. While Dimmesdale may be both good and evil, the Puritans still believe he is only good. Chillingworth was the epitome of evil, seeking only to send Hester’s new lover to hell and to refuse him the generous judgement of God. However, what the citizens believed may not be how God truly
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said that “Truth is plain, but its language is hard to interpret” (“The Scarlet Letter” 314). In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the line between the “language” that is established in society and the “language” in one’s heart is blurred. The truth is plain. Hester and Dimmesdale’s truth is their sin manifested in their daughter, the living result of their adultery, Pearl. Based in Puritan Boston, The Scarlet Letter addresses the themes sin, shame, guilt, and redemption and their perception…

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