Is Dimmesdales Death Reasonable

Arthur Dimmesdale, from The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was a minister. He gave powerful and touching sermons; he was the overall image of a perfect minister. However, he had a grave secret that ate at him from within. He had committed adultery with one of his worshippers and fathered a child. Hawthorne uses Dimmesdale to make a point that guilt for unpunished sin will erode a person until they die. The reason for which he deserves to die is that he committed a sin, Dimmesdale also refused to admit his mistake therefore not redeeming himself, he was a coward and rather than confessing he tried to run away. Dimmesdale is unable to publicly face the consequences of his sin, so his guilt drives him to near insanity, and that eventually led to his death.

After Dimmesdale commits adultery with Hester Prynne, he begins to feel guilty. Consequently health begins to deteriorate because of this guilt. Knowing the penalty for not confessing to a sin, he attempts to redeem himself through many ways. However, he believes that the sentences for his sins are greater than not taking the punishment. Rather than sharing the punishment with Hester, and be censured by the public, he tries to take the punishment into his own hands. He beats himself with whips and chains. Dimmesdale believes that he can absolve himself from his sins if he suffers his physical punishment enough. Rather than ease him of his sins, the punishments only contribute to his illness that was caused by his guilt. Realizing that self-chastisement is not enough, he looks for other means to free himself of the guilt. During his sermons, Dimmesdale hints at what he has done, but is not able to tell them outright and confess his sin.

Dimmesdale refuses to acknowledge the fact that he should admit to the public. Once again, Dimmesdale is reluctant to take the punishment completely. He goes to the same scaffold that Hester stood on, and screams his sins. The difference is that Hester was punished facing the entire town, and Rev. Dimmesdale goes in the middle of the night when there is no one present. However, Dimmesdale finally realizes that the only way to free him of the guilt is to stand before a crowd on the same scaffold the way Hester did. So Hester and Pearl come by and ask him if he will stand

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