The townspeople of The Scarlet Letter exaggerate Reverend Dimmesdale's goodness when they compare his sin to their own. "Oh, if Dimmesdale thinks his sin is bad- mine must be a thousand times worse!" But, if Hester, with the glory and shame of her "A", revealed another sin, they would have her hanged without a second thought, believing that the town whore deserves nothing better.
The religious head and the other extreme, the adulteress, are being judged by two different standards. Dimmesdale is praised for being a priest, for having that "other worldly, holy connection"; Hester is shunned, ignored, abandoned- even with all the good works she has done. Their mutual sin links them together forever- secretly, of course, in the privacy of their hearts. I think when Dimmesdale reveals his secret, though, the people will snatch away his prestige and lower him to Hester's social status, ripped away from his pulpit and spat upon by the village poor, also. Just because there is a preconceived notion about a man from his vocation, it does not mean he is, in actuality, any better than anyone else, or above the laws everyone else abides by.
In a community theater, the actor who constantly gets the lead will probably get the next center stage position again- unless he messes up so completely, so destructively that his abilities are questioned as "unstable?". He will then slowly be valued less in the director's eyes and reduced to support or even a chorus position. I can't wait to find out how Dimmesdale is treated once he reveals his secret.
I really liked how you brought up that Dimmesdale and Hester are treated differently just because of his religious associations and her place in society as a woman who has committed a sin, even though she has done wonderful things like sew for the poor. It also shows the extreme sexism that was present in society back then. In addition, I enjoyed how you related your topic to something very near and dear to your heart, as I know theater is.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Allison & I like how you related it to theatre and how you exposed the difference in treatment between Hester and Dimmesdale.
ReplyDeleteI like your comparison of Hester and Dimmesdale and how you think he would receive no different consequences than Hester if he revealed his sin. Society often accepts people's flaws to a certain extent. After that, it has no choice but to condemn him/her. I also like your connection between theater and Dimmesdale :)
ReplyDeleteWhen I first began to read your blog post I thought you were going to talk about differences between males and females, but I'm happy you didn't because what you said was very interesting. Also, I don't think Hawthorne is saying anything about sex because Dimmesdale would be reduced to the same position if his secret was exposed and I like how you talk about that in your post and instead relate their positions to their situations.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting Sarah! I really like the two points you bring out, and definitely agree with you! Great job!
ReplyDeleteIt truly is unfair for Hester, and it makes me wonder if the town could notice Dimmesdale's fault in adultery, but blind themselves so that they won't see it.
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