Scarlet Letter: Sympathy For Dimmesdale

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In the novel The Scarlet Letter, the character Mr. Dimmesdale can be considered immoral because he commits adultery and does not admit to it. By keeping this secret from the public, he allows his fellow adulterer Hester to take all of the blame for him while he lives his life unpunished and adored by the community. However, readers often feel sympathy for Dimmesdale because of his physical state of frailty and the amount he could possibly lose from confessing. Dimmesdale’s actions by themselves can be seen as despicable. For example, Dimmesdale does not reveal himself as the father when Hester has her baby and, therefore, does not admit to being the adulterer. Instead, he continues to give sermons in the church, which reveals that he refuses to wreck his reputation; he would rather lie to his listeners and disrespect God and the church by preaching while in the state of sin. Moreover, Dimmesdale refuses Pearl’s request to stand …show more content…
If he owned up to his actions, he would be more despised than Hester ever was because he is the pastor of the settlement; he is the one who teaches everyone how to live without sin and admit it when they do. The whole town would most likely be furious that they have been listening to a man with this much fault hidden for so many years. Additionally, his punishment would presumably be much more severe than Hester’s because he is the man who “corrupted” the woman. It is possible that his punishment could even be death, especially because he hides his guilt for so long. Finally, he would lose touch with Hester and Pearl, who are the only people he loves and cares about. If he confessed, they he would become even more detached from them and, most likely, never see them again. With this many risks in confessing, readers partially understand his decision not to speak up and act more forgivingly towards him and his

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