Dimmsdale is the Worst Guy Ever Made

In The Scarlet Letter by Natheniel Hawthorne, there is a character that is revered by his culture to an extent that people can recognize none of his true nature. This is the Reverend Arthur Dimmsdale. Dimmsdale is a holy man that is praised widely for his hard work, but at the end of the day he is actually the most sinful person in the whole town. Though he is considered one of the greatest men in his puritan society, he is actually gaining the system to cover up his massive sin, and is the main antagonist of The Scarlet Letter 

In puritan times, adultery was considered much more serious then it is today. Because of the very strict religious influence, going against the sixth commandment in the bible. “Thou shall not commit adultery”,  was one of the most heinous things a person could do. Hester Prynne commits this crime, and is reviled by the entire town. She stands on scaffolding for several hours and is shamed for her actions in public. Adultery is not the crime of an individual, though. Hester’s partner, Dimmsdale, is not suspected for this crime, because he is respected in his society as a clergyman, and is absolved of any wrongdoing in the eyes of the townspeople. So Dimmsdale, out of fear, takes advantage of this position and does not confess. From an outside perspective, this is just not cool. But some people would argue against this, saying something like “He’s a victim of his time!” due to the fact that his position put a lot of pressure on him in a religion dominated society, and if the puritan people were to hear of his sin, they would lose faith in their faith and therefore the structure of the culture as well. But through the bible, we know that Dimmesdale had a duty to confess to his sin. “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16). So not only is the act of not confessing morally reprehensible from an outside perspective, it is against Dimmsdale’s duty as a holy man. There is no excuse, either from a readers perspective or from the puritan’s perspective, that Dimmsdale acts this way.

Dimmsdale may have been awful in life, but ironically it is his death that ends up having the most effect on the narrative. This is the moment where Dimmesdale reveals all, his sins and his connection to Hester and Pearl. But Dimmesdale does not really have to share the pain and suffering that his inaction has caused for his lover and child, because he dies immediately after. Now most deaths can’t be called selfish, purposeful, or ignorant, because death is famously non negotiable. But in this instance, Dimmesdale knew he was about to die, as he says so himself here: “By bringing me hither, to die this death of triumphant ignominy before the people! Had either of these agonies been wanting, I had been lost for ever! Praised be his name! His will be done! Farewell!” (Hawthorne 235). So Dimmsdale knew he was going to die once he confessed in this way, because of some divine intuition. Some might see this as a selfless act, to confess his sins while having such high expectations placed upon himself by the society, but it’s really not selfless in any sense to leave behind a wife and child, especially after you have talked of escaping your oppressive society with them. Of course, we as readers know Pearl and Hester turned out fine, but Dimmesdale had no way to know this. He also escapes all scrutiny through death. Even after his confession, he is not reviled in the way Hester was, as shown by this description of the townspeople’s thoughts about his death: “Some affirmed that the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale, on the very day when Hester Prynne first wore her ignominous badge, had begun a course of penance,-which he afterwards, in so many futile methods, followed out,-by inflicting a hideous torture on himself. Others contended that the stigma had not been produced until a long time subsequent, when old Roger Chillingworth, being a potent necromancer, had caused it to appear, through the agency of magic and poisonous drugs. Others, again,-and those best able to appreciate the minister’s peculiar sensibility, and the wonderful operation of his spirit upon the body,-whispered their belief, that the awful symbol was the effect of the ever active tooth of remorse, gnawing from the inmost heart outwardly, and at last manifesting Heaven’s dreadful judgment.” (Hawthorne 237). Notice that none of these ideas about Dimmesdale even directly condemn him. The first portrays Dimmesdale as someone who underwent torture as an effect of Hester Prynne’s sin. The second places the blame entirely on Roger Chillingworth. The last, while mostly accurate, still characterizes Dimmesdale as suffering from a burden of guilt rather than attacking him for the actual sin. So Dimmsdale manages to completely escape the scrutiny that Hester and Pearl have experienced, while also abandoning them completely to the remorseless puritan townspeople. These are not exactly the actions of a remorseful man.

So in summary, Dimmsdale uses his position of power to escape guilt, leaving Hester and Pearl to fend for themselves, while also ignoring his duty as a man of faith in puritan society. In his last moments, he commits a selfish action and manages to avoid all condemnation from the townspeople. Though he is considered one of the greatest men in his puritan society, he is actually gaining the system to cover up his massive sin, and is the main antagonist of The Scarlet Letter.