Hester and Dimmesdale both are punished for there sin. Hester punishment is visible or external and Dimmesdale's punishment is internal. His mental agony and restlessness in mind gives him more punishment then that of Hester's external punishment.
In puritan society they did not allow adulterous in there society and as a result they would punished them who would do that crime.
Though Dimmesdale and Hester both are the criminal because they had an affair and hester gave birth a illicit child. But hester was being convinced as criminal and as a punishment she was given the scarlet letter A in her bosom. Her Punishment was ethical according to the law of the society. But Dimmesdale was punished by the crime that made the affair with Hester in the long absent of her Husband and he also lost his moral code. And he was punished by his own sin of mind.
Suffering is a part of life and usually always follows after having committed a crime or sin because there is either remorse and/or punishment. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, both Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne suffer for their sin. However, one suffered more than the other did because the punishments were different. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale suffered more than Hester because, unlike Hester, he had nothing to live for and because of the guilt he had to keep hidden.
Suffering can be eased by many different ways. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale suffered greatly through his conscience and had nothing to ease it. Dimmesdale had nothing to live for because he didn’t have a family or someone that needed him. Dimmesdale, despairing of life, told Chillingworth that “[he] could be well content, that [his] labors, and [his] sorrows, and [his] sins, and [his] pains, should shortly end with [him], and what is earthly of them be buried in [his] grave”(83). His suffering is greater than his happiness, which leads him to believe that death would rid his suffering. Dimmesdale had no one to help him through his suffering while Hester had Pearl, which she loved and was responsible to take care of. She could not leave Pearl alone, binding her to life. Having to deal with suffering and guilt alone can lead to terrible practices. Dimmesdale, without the advice or help from anyone, tried to find a form of penance so he began to physically torture himself. To do this “oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied [a bloody scrooge] on his own shoulders […], it was his custom to fast […] rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him […], he kept vigils […] viewing his own face in a looking-glass, by the most powerful light which he could throw upon it”(99). Dimmesdale did these horrible acts because of a feeling of worthless. He felt that he deserved even more punishment because of the extra sin of concealing his original sin. Hester, at least, did feel needed or loved by Pearl, which kept her from many other terrible sins, and she did not have the extra tormenting sin to carry, which shows that she suffered less. Dimmesdale possessed only one thing, which was his suffering. The crime was his life because it seemed everything revolved around it. The only truth, “that continued to give Mr. Dimmesdale a real existence on this earth, was the anguish in his inmost soul, and the undissembled expression of it in his aspect”(100). This sin and his suffering had taken over his life; he had nothing else. Hester had one “treasure”, Pearl, while Dimmesdale had none, leaving him alone in the world.
Suffering can be the most terrible when in comes from your conscience. Dimmesdale had a terrible, undying guilt, which followed him everywhere and never quieted. Dimmesdale’s feelings were evident in that he explained that “it must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as this poor woman Hester is, than to cover it all up in his heart”(93). Dimmesdale said that once the extra sin of concealing the original sin is gone the load on the conscience lessens relieving the guilt and suffering. Hester did not have these additional burdens of guilt and suffering as Dimmesdale did. Dimmesdale also had the guilt and shame of knowing how unworthy he was of receiving the town’s adoration. It was inconceivable, “the agony with which this public veneration tortured him"(98). Dimmesdale’s conscience was tortured tremendously when everyone believed he was a saint while he knew how sinful and horrible he was. It tortured him to see people love him. Hester did not have this pressure and conflict within her conscience as Dimmesdale did because she had nothing to hide. His guilt was so strong that it almost made him go mad and brought him great suffering. He longed to say “I, your pastor, whom you so reverence and trust, am utterly a pollution and a lie” (99) and almost did when he went to the scaffold by mental distress. His guilt was mentally torturing him and drove him to despair. The uncontrollable helpless feeling of despair brought Dimmesdale immense suffering to the point where he almost lost his mind. Dimmesdale, unlike Hester, had an undying guilt that would forever torture him until his death.
There are different degrees and levels of suffering in the world. Dimmesdale suffered more than Hester because he had lost the will to live and had unbearable guilt. These types of situations are also seen today. When someone accidentally takes the life of another human being, both suffer tremendously; however, the murder will suffer more because his guilt will last a lifetime. For example, when my cousin was in a fight, his brother came to help him. Unfortunately, because of the darkness and the alcohol, he shot his own brother instead of his cousin, which was the rival. The brother was instantly grieved with the fact that he had taken the life of his own brother. The brother who died suffered physically for a short time while the other brother will suffer emotionally for the rest of his life. He will forever be traumatized with the memory causing him to suffer much more than his brother.
In puritan society they did not allow adulterous in there society and as a result they would punished them who would do that crime.
Though Dimmesdale and Hester both are the criminal because they had an affair and hester gave birth a illicit child. But hester was being convinced as criminal and as a punishment she was given the scarlet letter A in her bosom. Her Punishment was ethical according to the law of the society. But Dimmesdale was punished by the crime that made the affair with Hester in the long absent of her Husband and he also lost his moral code. And he was punished by his own sin of mind.
Suffering is a part of life and usually always follows after having committed a crime or sin because there is either remorse and/or punishment. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, both Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne suffer for their sin. However, one suffered more than the other did because the punishments were different. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale suffered more than Hester because, unlike Hester, he had nothing to live for and because of the guilt he had to keep hidden.
Suffering can be eased by many different ways. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale suffered greatly through his conscience and had nothing to ease it. Dimmesdale had nothing to live for because he didn’t have a family or someone that needed him. Dimmesdale, despairing of life, told Chillingworth that “[he] could be well content, that [his] labors, and [his] sorrows, and [his] sins, and [his] pains, should shortly end with [him], and what is earthly of them be buried in [his] grave”(83). His suffering is greater than his happiness, which leads him to believe that death would rid his suffering. Dimmesdale had no one to help him through his suffering while Hester had Pearl, which she loved and was responsible to take care of. She could not leave Pearl alone, binding her to life. Having to deal with suffering and guilt alone can lead to terrible practices. Dimmesdale, without the advice or help from anyone, tried to find a form of penance so he began to physically torture himself. To do this “oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied [a bloody scrooge] on his own shoulders […], it was his custom to fast […] rigorously, and until his knees trembled beneath him […], he kept vigils […] viewing his own face in a looking-glass, by the most powerful light which he could throw upon it”(99). Dimmesdale did these horrible acts because of a feeling of worthless. He felt that he deserved even more punishment because of the extra sin of concealing his original sin. Hester, at least, did feel needed or loved by Pearl, which kept her from many other terrible sins, and she did not have the extra tormenting sin to carry, which shows that she suffered less. Dimmesdale possessed only one thing, which was his suffering. The crime was his life because it seemed everything revolved around it. The only truth, “that continued to give Mr. Dimmesdale a real existence on this earth, was the anguish in his inmost soul, and the undissembled expression of it in his aspect”(100). This sin and his suffering had taken over his life; he had nothing else. Hester had one “treasure”, Pearl, while Dimmesdale had none, leaving him alone in the world.
Suffering can be the most terrible when in comes from your conscience. Dimmesdale had a terrible, undying guilt, which followed him everywhere and never quieted. Dimmesdale’s feelings were evident in that he explained that “it must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as this poor woman Hester is, than to cover it all up in his heart”(93). Dimmesdale said that once the extra sin of concealing the original sin is gone the load on the conscience lessens relieving the guilt and suffering. Hester did not have these additional burdens of guilt and suffering as Dimmesdale did. Dimmesdale also had the guilt and shame of knowing how unworthy he was of receiving the town’s adoration. It was inconceivable, “the agony with which this public veneration tortured him"(98). Dimmesdale’s conscience was tortured tremendously when everyone believed he was a saint while he knew how sinful and horrible he was. It tortured him to see people love him. Hester did not have this pressure and conflict within her conscience as Dimmesdale did because she had nothing to hide. His guilt was so strong that it almost made him go mad and brought him great suffering. He longed to say “I, your pastor, whom you so reverence and trust, am utterly a pollution and a lie” (99) and almost did when he went to the scaffold by mental distress. His guilt was mentally torturing him and drove him to despair. The uncontrollable helpless feeling of despair brought Dimmesdale immense suffering to the point where he almost lost his mind. Dimmesdale, unlike Hester, had an undying guilt that would forever torture him until his death.
There are different degrees and levels of suffering in the world. Dimmesdale suffered more than Hester because he had lost the will to live and had unbearable guilt. These types of situations are also seen today. When someone accidentally takes the life of another human being, both suffer tremendously; however, the murder will suffer more because his guilt will last a lifetime. For example, when my cousin was in a fight, his brother came to help him. Unfortunately, because of the darkness and the alcohol, he shot his own brother instead of his cousin, which was the rival. The brother was instantly grieved with the fact that he had taken the life of his own brother. The brother who died suffered physically for a short time while the other brother will suffer emotionally for the rest of his life. He will forever be traumatized with the memory causing him to suffer much more than his brother.
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