Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale The emotional wreck of The Scarlet Letter The novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathanial Hawthorne shows how the characters of the Puritan period must live and deal with sins and the effects of sins and how people deal with them in personal ways. In the novel Hester Prynne moved to America waiting for her husband, Roger Chillingworth, who never arrived, so she began an affair with the Reverend Arthur Dimmsdale and had a daughter out of wedlock named Pearl. While all of these characters are fascinating in their own ways, I think the most fascinating character is Reverend Arthur Dimmsdale. He is a very intellectual and spiritual man with many flaws. He brings a sense of morality and remorse to the story and is the easiest character to relate to. He is portrayed as the most vulnerable and weak character in the story. Although he is associated with nobility and weakness, he is a much stronger and more powerful character than he is given credit for. He has incredible control in how he handles his burdens, his demons. He displays a great deal of courage and intellect throughout the story, but is haunted by his mistakes and is incredibly unstable. Although he does not admit it, he is the father of Hester's daughter Pearl, although he refuses to admit it. He deals with his guilt by tormenting himself mercilessly, both physically and mentally, until he eventually develops a heart problem. Every time he comes close to allowing himself to reveal the secret through his sermons he backs down, which pushes him to take his guilt and punishment to new heights, which leads to further deterioration of not only his mental condition and spiritual but also of his physical condition. Furthermore. He is a very powerful priest and because he is so emotional and intelligent his sermons are masterpieces and very persuasive to his congregation. He is a very powerful speaker and compassionate leader, and his congregation has the sincerest respect for him and receives deep spiritual guidance from his sermons. He was even chosen to deliver the Election Day sermon, the most important sermon of the year. Ironically, the Election Day sermon was the most powerful, as well as the last sermon he ever preached before he died. The city idolized him, and after his last sermon the city's fascination with him reached new heights.