What is guilt? We all have guilt about something. Maybe forgetting something,
lied about something, or even did something that shouldn't of been done. In The Scarlet
Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne we saw guilt fester in the minds and outward appearance
of the main characters, Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth.
When you hear the word guilt what do you think it means? Guilt means
remorseful awareness of having done something wrong or of having failed to do
something required or expected. Does that sound about right? Guilt is something
everyone has. Its this mental manifestation that lets us know when we did something
wrong but no one knows it yet. Guilt is very powerful. Some people after awhile give in
to this guilt and confess what they did.
In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale commit a great sin.
Because of this great sin, it causes them immense guilt and sadness though out the rest of
the book.
The Scarlet Letter (1860) by T. H. Matteson. Oil o...
English: Hester Prynne & Pearl before the stocks
This is the title page for the first edition of Th...One of the main character's that is affected the most is Arthur Dimmesdale.
Dimmesdale handles it in a different way though, to him its more of a 'concealed sin.' A
example of this is, 'It may be that they are kept silent by the very constitution of their
nature. Or - can we not suppose it - guilty as they may be, retaining, nevertheless, a zeal
for God's glory and man's welfare, they shrink from displaying themselves black and filthy
in the view of men; because, thenceforward, no good can be achieved by them; no evil or
the past be redeemed by better service.' Dimmesdale also has another reason for his
concealing, he wants to remain silent so that he can continue to do God's work as a
minister.
Hester Prynne handles her guilt in another...