ARTHUR DIMMESDALE:
Résumé: Dimmesdale is young, pale, and physically delicate. He has large,
melancholy eyes and a tremulous mouth, suggesting great sensitivity. An
ordained Puritan minister, he is well educated, and he has a philosophical
turn of mind. There is no doubt that he is devoted to God, passionate in
his religion, and effective in the pulpit. He also has the principal conflict
in the novel, and his agonized suffering is the direct result of his inability
to disclose his sin.
+ 1 of the 4 major characters
Dimmesdale’s dilemma
Guilt: Arthur Dimmesdale struggles with the knowledge of his sin = innability to
disclose it to Puritan society. he knows he has sinned and considers himself a
hypocrite, a sign he is not chosen.
Struggle: The vigils he keeps are representative of this inward struggle.
They are sometimes in darkness, sometimes in dim light, and sometimes
by the most powerful light which he could throw upon it= darkeness of
his soul…
As a sinner, he is weakened to temptation. As demonstrated later, his
weakened condition makes it easier for him to associate himself with the
Black Man in the forest.
In the forest scene, Dimmesdale evidently realizes that he is human and
should ask forgiveness and do penance openly. On the way home, he
sees how far his defenses have been breached by evil. These thoughts
explain why he can so easily write his Election Day sermon, which is filled
with the passion of his struggle and his humanity.
And Redemption : ameliorate the pressure of this position by punishing himself (both
physically and mentally). In an attempt to seek salvation, he fasts until he
faints and whips himself on the shoulders until he bleeds. But these
punishments are done in private rather than in public and do not provide
the cleansing Dimmesdale seeks and needs.
Dimmesdale's confession in the third scaffold scene is the action that
ensures his salvation. The reader senses that whether chosen or earned,
Dimmesdale's salvation is a reality. Having had several opportunities to
confess, without success until this scene, true to his nature if not his
ministry, he asks God's forgiveness
truth: desire for confession= tell the truth
and falsehood : He is exemplary in performing his duties as a Puritan
minister= evidence of his holiness.
As a minister, Dimmesdale has a voice that consoles and an ability to
sway audiences. His congregation adores him and his parishioners seek
his advice. As a minister, Dimmesdale must be above reproach, and
there is no question that he excels at his profession and enjoys a
reputation among his congregation and other ministers. His soul aside,
he does do good works. His ministry aids people in leading good lives. If
he publicly confesses, he loses his ability to be effective in this regard.
Dimmesdale has not the strength of Hester Prynne or her honesty. He
cannot stand alone to confess. In death, perhaps he will find a gentler
judgment that his own or that of his fellow citizens of Boston.
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/s/the-scarlet-letter/character-analysis/arthurdimmesdale
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/scarlet/canalysis.html
http://www.shmoop.com/scarlet-letter/reverend-arthur-dimmesdale.html
PEARL: Definition of the name… Hester names her daughter "Pearl," as in pure,
white, and definitely not sinful. (= puritan name) But that's not what "pearl" means to
Hester. To Hester, it means the pearl of great price, the pearl in Jesus' parable that
is bought at "great price."
= symbol of the adultery : not meant to be a realistic character. Rather, she
is a complicated symbol of an act of love and passion, an act which was
also adultery. She appears as an infant in the first scaffold scene, then at
the age of three, and finally at the age of seven. (Notice that three and
seven are "magic" numbers.) Chapter 6 = most important description
see notes on chapter 6…
personnality = intelligent, imaginative, inquisitive, determined, and even
obstinate at times = like her mother
physically= Colours … Physical descriptions of Pearl and the scarlet letter
are virtually interchangeable.
Symbolic of : - functions as a constant reminder of Hester's adulterous
act. She is, in fact, the personification of that act. + strong relation with
the other representation of the adultery, the A : Even as a baby, she
instinctively reaches for the scarlet letter. She creates her own letter out
of moss, sees the letter in the breastplate at Governor Bellingham's
mansion, and points at it in the forest scene with Hester and
Dimmesdale. Pearl’s innocent, or perhaps intuitive, comments about the letter raise
crucial questions about its meaning.
- magic= elf-like… = witch girl : grace, pretty, intelligent,
vivid imagination,
- wild child = can’t adapt to the puritan world= like her
mother + idea of nature+ different from the others
- questions nobody wants to hear = the truth : importance
lies in her ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks
them pointed questions and draws their attention, and the reader’s, to the
denied or overlooked truths of the adult world. Pearl is the most
perceptive of them all
end of the symbol with : Once her father’s identity is revealed, Pearl is no longer
needed in this symbolic capacity; at Dimmesdale’s death she becomes fully “human,”
leaving behind her otherworldliness and her preternatural vision. it is Dimmesdale's
actions that "save" Pearl, making her truly human and giving her human
sympathies and feelings. On the scaffold just before his death, Pearl
kisses him and "a spell was broken." At that point, Pearl ceases to be a
symbol.
While Pearl functions mainly as a symbol, she is allowed to become a
flesh and blood person at the end. She is a combination of her mother's
passion and intuitive understanding and her father's keen mental acuity.
In her, Hawthorne has created a symbol of great wealth and layers.