Why do dimmesdale and chillingworth conceal secrets

When she refuses to tell her secret, he makes her promise that she will not reveal to anyone his own identity either.

Chillingworth replies that it is not the well-being of her soul that his presence jeopardizes, implying that he plans to seek out her unknown lover. He clearly has revenge on his mind.

Her punishment is expressed in violent terms. Reverend Wilson relates an argument he had with Dimmesdale about whether to force Hester to confess in public. The men who sit in judgment of Hester are not only hypocritical but also ignorant. They know little of human nature and judge using overarching precepts rather than the specifics of an individual situation as their guides.

He is compassionate toward Hester and is able to convince Bellingham and Wilson to spare her any harsher punishment. The emerging portrait is not altogether positive. Although Dimmesdale displays compassion and a sense of justice, he also seems spineless and somewhat sinister.

The reader does not know why Dimmesdale declines to speak straightforwardly, but Hester does. When it is later revealed that Dimmesdale is the lover she seeks to protect, his speech becomes retrospectively ironic and terribly cruel. In this way, The Scarlet Letter comes to resemble a detective story: things have meaning only in the context of later information.

Chillingworth, too, begins to come into focus in these pages. The novel sets up a formal parallel between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth before the story makes clear the logical connection between the two characters. He admits that he was not the right husband for Hester and that he was remiss in not joining up with her sooner even though he seems to have been held captive. Yet, he ultimately chooses to use his knowledge for vengeance.

Surprisingly, Hester reacts with dismay when Chillingworth tells her that the town fathers are considering letting her remove the letter. Instead, Hester stays, refiguring the scarlet letter as a symbol of her own experiences and character. Her past sin is a part of who she is; to pretend that it never happened would mean denying a part of herself.

Thus, Hester very determinedly integrates her sin into her life. Dimmesdale also struggles against a socially determined identity. Except for Chillingworth, those around the minister willfully ignore his obvious anguish, misinterpreting it as holiness. Hawthorne explores the theme of female independence by showing how Hester boldly makes her own decisions and is able to take care of herself. She also has practical responsibilities that force her to be independent: she has to earn a living so that she and her daughter can survive, and she also has to raise a headstrong child as a single parent.

These unusual circumstances make Hester comfortable standing up for herself, such as when she violently objects to Governor Bellingham trying to take Pearl away. The descriptions of Pearl also suggest that female independence is antithetical to happiness.

Guilt is a major theme in The Scarlet Letter , and appears primarily in the psychology of Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is tormented both by guilt at his sinful act of fathering an illegitimate child, and then by the guilt of failing to take responsibility for his actions and having to hide his secret. If anything, his sense of guilt is what makes him so vulnerable to being manipulated by Chillingsworth.

Through the character of Dimmesdale, Hawthorne suggests that guilt is not necessarily virtuous if it is not accompanied by an effort to change or redeem oneself. Hester and Dimmesdale are drawn to each other by desires that cannot be controlled by the rules of social, legal, and religious institutions. They follow their impulses, which leads to conception and reproduction.

The relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale explores the tension between natural desires, and the ways in which society tries to control human nature by imposing rules and laws. Similarly, Pearl, a product of natural impulses, exhibits a personality that aligns her with nature, rather than society. This location highlights the tension between nature and society. What do Chillingworth and Dimmesdale have in common? Why does Dimmesdale seem to be hiding something during his conversation with Chillingworth?

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