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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This is a 4 page paper that provides an explication of Dimmesdale's dying monologue in "The Scarlet Letter". The argument is made that Dimmesdale rejects Puritanical values and beseeches Hester to do the same. Bibliography lists 0 sources.
Page Count:
4 pages (~225 words per page)
File: KW60_KFlit016.doc
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
for a short denouement. At first glance, one may have the impression that this monologue is a failure of sorts on the part of Dimmesdale, a concession to the social
constraints of Puritan society that leads to his expiration and defeat. This is likely the interpretation held by the assembled crowd who witnessed this "confession". However, by analyzing the careful
word choices and literary devices utilized by Hawthorne in this final monologue, it is possible to discern a subversive secondary meaning to the text, in which Dimmesdale is speaking not
to the crowd but to Hester directly, beseeching her to reject or ignore Puritanical considerations of an afterlife and to focus instead on the earthly passions which they shared, lest
she become "lost" in Puritanical guilt as Dimmesdale himself did. Certainly, this reading of the text is in keeping with Hawthornes broader themes of the oppressive nature of religious dogma
and legalism in the rest of novel. The passage opens with Dimmesdale addressing Hester directly: "Hush, Hester, hush!". Not only does this statement offer a clue that the
"confession" is aimed at Hester herself and not at the Puritan crowd, its use of alliteration allows Hawthorne to imbue the entire monologue with a sense of poetics, inviting one
to study the words more deeply in search of a hidden meaning. This idea of double meanings is reinforced in the notion that Dimmesdale delivers his speech with "tremulous solemnity".
Tremulous being defined in Merriam-Webster as "affected with trembling or tremors", the word is an odd fit with "solemnity" which suggests just the opposite. The opening sentence of the monologue,
then, suggests the fact that there are two layers of meaning here: the superficial layer in which Dimmesdale expresses regret for having violated Puritanical values, and the deeper layer in
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