The Crushing Weight of Guilt

In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne delves deeply into exploring the dynamics and conflicts characteristic of shame. The concept of shame plays a large part in each of the main character's internal conflicts, and the different ways in which the opposing characters are effected by the weight of this shame is what allows the work of literature to form a thorough analysis of the ignominy.

The Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is among the main characters whose story is narrated in the novel. Unlike Hester Prynne, whose shame is displayed to everyone through both the gaudily decorated scarlet "A" attached to her bosom and her child Pearl, Dimmesdale's guilt and shame seem more unbearable because it is unalterable and inexpressible. Dimmesdale is torn apart, not only mentally but also physically, throughout the story due to his strong feelings of...