Scarlett Letter Essay

The Road to Self-Reliance
Ralph Waldo Emerson describes the theme of self-reliance as being able to “believe in your own thought, to believe what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men...” (Emerson np). He recounts this in his essay titled, “Self-Reliance”. The character of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is an unlikely choice when discussing how the theme of this essay relates to a specific character. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Dimmesdale is portrayed as having two conflicting views. One is his Puritan and conformist ways of fitting in and never daring to challenge the flow of life. The other is his lust for Hester Prynne; which enables him to abandon his religious convictions and join her in a transgression of passion. Unable to handle the guilt of his sin, Dimmesdale attempts to reconcile with himself. Should he confess his sin and risk the havoc it reaps on the town, or should he continue to internalize his misdeeds and destroy his mental and physical stability? In regards to the theme of self-reliance in Emerson’s essay, Reverend Dimmesdale in Hawthorne’s novel proves to be a dynamic character as he changes from being the antithesis of one who is self-reliant to a person who comes to know his heart and begins to act on its desires.
When the character of Arthur Dimmesdale is first introduced, he is seen as “a being who felt himself quite astray and at a loss in the pathway of human existence” (Hawthorne 72). During Hester’s initial humiliation on the scaffold, Reverend Dimmesdale is told to speak to her. He is supposed to have her reveal the name of her lover so that he can serve her punishment of adultery along with her. While berating Hester to “speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner…” (Hawthorne 75) Dimmesdale is denying his part in Hester’s sin. He sustains this guilt within him; which eventually builds up and puts strain on his health. There is a moment of relief for the Reverend when Hester announces that...