Man Vs. Himself In The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne :: essays research papers

A great deal of blood has been shed and many wars have been fought during the history of civilization; however, man’s greatest battle and most formidable enemy is only himself. This has been made only more evident with the passage of time and the development of the human character. However, one factor that has remained constant in the human character through this development is conscience. Conscience can be man’s saving grace or his damning affliction; its presence may simultaneously purify and mar. As contradictory as this may sound, it has been explored in depth by Nathaniel Hawthorne who chronicles one man’s battle against himself in The Scarlet Letter. In this novel, an anguished Arthur Dimmesdale struggles to pacify his conscience and withhold the secret of his sin from being known. As his conscience continues to consume all that is his very essence, Arthur Dimmesdale illustrates Hawthorne’s theme of a sin-stained conscience and redemption only through truth. The novel begins to delve into the heart and conscience of Arthur Dimmesdale when Roger Chillingworth questions him about his thoughts on sinners and their secrets. Feeling full well the torment of his own secret, Arthur proclaims that those who hold such "miserable secrets†¦will yield them up that last day†¦with a joy unutterable." By this expression, Arthur offers a glimpse into his tortured heart and shows how heavy a burden his secret is. When Chillingworth further inquires about such sinful secrets, Arthur holds his hand to his breast, a motion that he carries out as "if afflicted with an importunate throb of pain." Evidently Arthur does this frequently, and the reader is presented with the thought that this gesture possibly is not done as much out of physical suffering as spiritual suffering. Not only is the health of Arthur’s body in question, but the condition of his heart, his soul, is dubious. A supernatural light is later shed upon this question as Chillingworth uncovers the secret Arthur had tried to keep intact. It is visible to him as he pulls aside Arthur’s ministerial robe: a scarlet letter A upon his chest. Although Hawthorne lets this aspect of the novel remain ambiguous, this engraving on Arthur’s chest suggests that the burden of his sin had seeped so deeply within him, it has now forced its way outside; it is at all his levels. At this point in the novel, Arthur’s sin had begun, if it had not already succeeded, in consuming him. Arthur’s conscience was now stained with sin, and its weight will