Passion expressed and confessed clearly brings peace and love, but passion repressed undoubtedly brings guilt suffering and death. Passion brings peace and love to Hester because she expresses and confesses passion clearly to others. In the early years of Hester’s punishment the magistrates of the colony demand to take Pearl away from Hester because they believe Hester is unable to raise Pearl in a Puritanical way. This is because Hester has sinned and because Pearl was unable to answer how she was created. While the magistrates and Hester are conversing, Hester cries, “‘God gave me the child’ cried she, … ‘she is my happiness! Pearl keeps me here in life…. I will not giver her up!’”(Hawthorne 109). Hester’s commitment to Pearl is because
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Dimmesdale because his passion towards others, specifically Hester is repressed. Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth have a deep conversation together about what transgressors should do when admitting to guilt. Dimmesdale believes transgressors should not admit when Dimmesdale says that transgressors “to their own unutterable torment, go about among their fellow creatures looking pure as new fallen snow; while their hearts are all speckled and spotted with iniquity of which they cannot rid themselves” (Hawthorne 129). He claims this because he is in a position of needing to confess, but he does not want to or does so and thus goes around society suffering quietly. Hawthorne has Dimmesdale say this to show Dimmesdale’s role in the story. Dimmesdale’s role is to show that anyone can be sinful, and that the repression of passion causes suffering. This suffering, shown continuously through the story leads to Dimmesdale’s path of decline in health. His decline in health begins when Roger Chillingworth figuratively attaches himself to Dimmesdale and his soul. Dimmesdale begins to look haggard. When the magistrates are arguing with Hester over the care of Pearl, Dimmesdale helps Hester when she asks since he knows her best. He helps her, but he is “now more careworn and emaciated than as described in the scene of Hester’s ignominy;....[with] his large dark eyes [having] a world of pain in their troubled and melancholy depth”(Hawthorne 110). Dimmesdale is able to help Hester because he knows her so well, but he is unable to show his passion to her in the Puritan society because he is a reverend, and reverends are supposed to be examples of how to be devout to God by not sinning. However, Dimmesdale’s inability to purge his passion toward Hester brings him suffering throughout the story because he represses it. This repression leads to suffering because his eyes show the depths of pain and melancholy signifying that he is
Dimmesdale because his passion towards others, specifically Hester is repressed. Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth have a deep conversation together about what transgressors should do when admitting to guilt. Dimmesdale believes transgressors should not admit when Dimmesdale says that transgressors “to their own unutterable torment, go about among their fellow creatures looking pure as new fallen snow; while their hearts are all speckled and spotted with iniquity of which they cannot rid themselves” (Hawthorne 129). He claims this because he is in a position of needing to confess, but he does not want to or does so and thus goes around society suffering quietly. Hawthorne has Dimmesdale say this to show Dimmesdale’s role in the story. Dimmesdale’s role is to show that anyone can be sinful, and that the repression of passion causes suffering. This suffering, shown continuously through the story leads to Dimmesdale’s path of decline in health. His decline in health begins when Roger Chillingworth figuratively attaches himself to Dimmesdale and his soul. Dimmesdale begins to look haggard. When the magistrates are arguing with Hester over the care of Pearl, Dimmesdale helps Hester when she asks since he knows her best. He helps her, but he is “now more careworn and emaciated than as described in the scene of Hester’s ignominy;....[with] his large dark eyes [having] a world of pain in their troubled and melancholy depth”(Hawthorne 110). Dimmesdale is able to help Hester because he knows her so well, but he is unable to show his passion to her in the Puritan society because he is a reverend, and reverends are supposed to be examples of how to be devout to God by not sinning. However, Dimmesdale’s inability to purge his passion toward Hester brings him suffering throughout the story because he represses it. This repression leads to suffering because his eyes show the depths of pain and melancholy signifying that he is