Critical Analysis Of Scarlet Letter

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Arthur’s Guilt and Suffering People get guilt when they have done something they know they should not do, and their conscience tells them it is wrong. Suffering comes after the guilt, when they do not do anything about it and the guilt builds up inside of them and physically hurts them. In The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the mid-1800s, there is a lot of sin and wrong-doings which lead to guilt and suffering. In the novel, many of the characters feel guilt for the sins they commit and regret committing the sin in the first place. Arthur Dimmesdale feels an abundance of guilt for committing his sin, and because of his lack of courage and the guilt he has built up inside, he is suffering significantly. Arthur Dimmesdale is the Reverend of the village of Boston, and the whole congregation looks up to him for advice and spiritual guidance. He is known for his inspiring and rhetorical sermons, but when he commits adultery with Hester Prynne, he starts to go downhill; not just with his sermons, but also his mental health. “…his cheek was paler and thinner, and his voice more tremulous than before…” (Hawthorne 111). This quote is an example of how the guilt built up inside of him was literally eating away at him to the point that he becomes tremendously unhealthy. Arthur becomes so unhealthy that the townspeople start worrying about him, but is happily surprised when Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne’s unknown husband, moves into town and volunteers to nurse him back to health. The two men soon become very close, and Roger even moves in with Arthur so he can care for him as much as possible; unfortunately Arthur still does not get better because the guilt is not forgotten. Arthur is not the only being affected by his guilt and suffering either; many of the main characters are being affected by his sin. Hester Prynne,
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