On the Ambivalence of Dimmesdale in The Scarlet Letter

Abstract

There are two recipients of the scarlet letter "A" in The Scarlet Letter, one is Hester Prynne, who was publicly tried, and the other is pastor Arthur Dimmesdale, who branded the scarlet letter on his chest. Compared with Hester, Dimmesdale showed greater contradiction in behavior and psychology: the conflict of ethical identity, the tangle of public confession and the confusion of inner belief. The reasons for the contradiction were closely related to the oppression of human nature by the society dominated by Puritanism and Dimmesdale's self-reflection and awakening. Hawthorne used a lot of psychoanalysis, contrast and scene description to show the complexity of Dimmesdale.