reflected in her daughter, Pearl. Similarly, Roger Chillingworth, Hester's husband, serves to constantly remind Dimmesdale of his crime. Unlike Hester, Dimmesdale believes that their act was a sin, causing Chillingworth to appear as Dimmesdale’s condemnation from hell. Ultimately, both Pearl and Chillingworth reflect the internal perception of both Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s
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Nathaniel Hawthorne's background influenced him to write the bold novel The Scarlet Letter. One important influence on the story is money. Hawthorne had never made much money as an author and the birth of his first daughter added to the financial burden ("Biographical Note" VII). He received a job at the Salem Custom House only to lose it three years later and be forced to write again to support his family (IX). Consequently, The Scarlet Letter was published a year later (IX). It was only intended
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she was. The reader can foreshadow that Chillingworth is greatly affected because of Hester’s sin and is becoming evil. Chillingworth easily could have exposed Hester’s secret but it didn’t give him the same pleasure as torturing Dimmesdale. He was happy to see Dimmesdale suffer. Instead of being DImmesdale’s doctor, Chillingworth makes him worse by using psychological techniques to mess with his mind. Chillingworth becomes destroyed by revenge. Not only is he destroyed but his appearance drastically
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The Frailty of Dimmesdale Nathaniel Hawthorne displays a deep understanding of the complexity of human frailty in his novel The Scarlet Letter. In The Scarlet Letter he depicts a small Puritan town where law and religion are intertwined. This strict form of government places an immense amount of pressure on the community, and creates an environment of shame and secrecy. This environment almost forces people to hold on to their mistakes or risk being publicly shamed or possibly killed. A minister
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confess is severely punished by being hung. In addition, in both literary works the societies in which the main characters are surrounded with are extremely judgmental and hypocritical. For example, in The Scarlet Letter, the society looks highly upon Dimmesdale and do not change their view points when he confesses his sin. However, when Hester confessed the society looked down upon her and ostracized her from their high standards. As well as, in The Crucible Proctor commits adultery and is not punished
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Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne craftily uses Robert Chillingworth to project his ideas of morality of relationships, revenge, and science on the world. First he uses Hester’s failed marriage to show the importance of proper relationships. Then he uses Dimmesdale to show the effect of revenge and evil sin does to a person. Finally he uses the Puritan’s reactions to his science to show how morality’s need in quests for knowledge. Chillingworth’s quest for science ahead of spiritual or emotional relationships
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Chillingworth is granted the name the Leech as he attempts to cleanse Dimmesdale. For Chillingworth wanted to know the father of Pearl because that man had wronged both himself and Hester. Such interactions between the Leech and his patient had a certain irony to it. Hawthorne utilizes the effects of sin in a strict civilization like that of the Puritans as detrimental and unforgiving. Dimmesdale appears to not forgive himself and is on the verge of his own deceasement, “since I am
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Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter are no exception. These wrongdoings contribute to an overall theme of the novel. This theme is sin. There are many symbols in the novel that draw attention to this theme, such as color and the scarlet letter. There is more symbols that are present in the novel and have high importance, however these two stand out significantly. Through instances involving Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, color
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affair with a young stud named Dimmesdale, and with him she had a daughter named Pearl. Hester is a strong willed woman as she deals with years of shame from her past actions, and as the continues to live in her community she notices their way of treating women and makes good observations. Pearl is Hester’s daughter that she had with Dimmesdale. She has an unique ability to see things that others do not, for example she finds out the truth about her mother and Dimmesdale, and the townspeople say that’s
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Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale wage a constant mental and physical battle throughout the Scarlet Letter. Chillingworth, a man of noble purpose and strong dispositions, falls further and further into his obsession of revenge. While at the same time, Dimmesdale, a respected reverend, suffers mentally and physically from his affair with Hester Prynne. As we progress through the novel, a question materializes: who deserves the blame for Hester Prynne’s affair, Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, or Hester Prynne
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