Despite the fact that, reverend Dimmesdale is represented as a hypocrite dealing with his clash of infidelity sin. Though he was a clergyman and a pious person in the eyes of the society yet he was a fellow sinner and adulterer.
“The minister well-knew – subtle, but remorseful hypocrite that he was!.” (Hawthorne, 115)
The duplicity affects his psychological state as he lived an dejected, gloomy life. His effort to uphold his excellent conduct in face of the public does not pass him any calm. Dimmesdale appears to be a spineless character in the novel upon which Harold Bloom puts light as he compares him with the other two characters :
“Dimmesdale ,caught between Hester and chilllingworth , has neither the blessed …show more content…
He constantly had his hand over his heart that represents his guilt and his cowardice. That refers towards the psychology of hypocrisy , and using Dimmesdale as a symbol hawthorne highlighted Puritan hypocrisy as Leland S. Person explains:
“ The Scarlet Letter offers a brilliant analysis of group psychology – of the way , to use Dimmesdale .s term , a “hungry” group of people believe what they want and need to believe about a public figure , regardless of the evidence before their eyes. Hawthorne clearly understood the political dimensions of the truth - the way “ truth” is always negotiated between speakers and listeners , even when the ‘light of heaven’ seems to be ‘beaming’ forth from the speaker” (73)
The character of Dimmesdale appears to be the most feeble character with the torture of heaven-denying shame and hopeless remorse Dimmesdale was transformed into a hypocrite by keeping his