But how could the young minister say so, when, with every successive Sabbath, his cheek was paler and thinner, and his voice more tremulous than before—when it had now become a constant habit, rather than a casual gesture, to press his hand over his heart? Was he weary of his labours? Did he wish to die? (Hawthorne 182)
Upon meeting with physician Roger Chillingworth, the doctor diagnoses with celerity that Dimmesdale is suffering from more than the perfunctory insomnia or malnutrition; through those visible symptoms of constant fatigue, paleness of skin, shortness of breath, and pain in the chest, Chillingworth is able to identify the rudimentary cause as a sickly spiritual, inner state. (Hawthorne) Similar to the story of Dimmesdale, who often wastes away his own health by avoiding sleep, food, and even beating himself, prestigious Hollywood actor Heath Ledger lost his life during his combat with severe depression. Although his death, caused by drug overdoes, was ruled as accidental, it is incontrovertible that Mr. Ledger’s depressed psychological state contributed to his reckless behavior. His death demonstrates the fact that visible symptoms of a medical condition such as depression is very often indicates sickness in the inner, emotional part. An article reporting on his death concludes that he died from the abuse of “six kinds of painkillers, sleeping pills, and anti-anxiety drugs” (Barron). The cause of Ledger’s depression and reckless behavior can be largely attributed to his split with actress Michelle Williams, who took their 2-year-old daughter away from him. Subsequently, Ledger abused drugs in order to alleviate his emotional suffering, which resulted in his unfortunate death at the young age of 28. In looking at depression, the