红字中丁梅斯代尔最后认罪的必要性(英文)

The necessity for Dimmesdale to confess in public

[Abstract]: In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the minister's public confession on the day of the Governor's inauguration brings the whole story to its tragic end. The text will try to analyze the necessity for Dimmesdale to confess in public from three motivations: the minister's belief, guilt and selfhood, Pearl’s demand of public recognition and the discourse with Hester in the forest.

[Keywords]: The Scarlet Letter, confession, necessity

As one of the greatest novels in American literature of the 19th century, Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter has been studied for many years at home and abroad. Studies of this novel in China focus on the following aspects：Firstly, there are thematic analyses from the viewpoint of religious ethics, feminism and human nature; secondly, in terms of writing techniques, many studies pay attention to the symbolic meaning of the text especially the meaning of the letter A; thirdly, scholar also compare The Scarlet Letter with other novels such as The Thorn Birds; fourthly, studies of the protagonists' personality characteristics are of great quantity. Foreign studies include Hawthorne's aesthetic theory, political views, and concept of ″Romance″, etc. As for one of the protagonists –Dimmesdale, his personality characteristics and tragic interest the scholars most. However, there are not many studies specifically about the motivations and reasons for Dimmesdale's confession in the end. This paper will try to analyze the necessity for Dimmesdale to confess in public: it is the minister's belief, guilt and selfhood, Pearl’s demand of public recognition and the discourse with Hester in the forest leads to Dimmesdale's inevitable final act.

1.Dimmesdale's belief, guilt and personality characteristics

1)Dimmesdale's genuine devotion to God

As a devoted servant of God, he believed that only God could save him and all he wanted was God's forgiveness. His concealment of sin resulted from his

self-deceiving perception that he still had a means of salvation through supporting and guarding his parishioners and that he would be able to ″confess his guilt from his pulpit and yet seem to his congregation be declaring the guiltiness of all man rather than confessing his own″(Katz, "Character," "Nature,", 10). However, ″Hawthorne's Bostonians believe that a sinner can only absolve himself of sin, God willing, by making public confession″ (Granger, Arthur Dimmesdale as Tragic Hero, 198). It is no doubt that he knew his could only bring an end to his hypocrisy and get his salvation by making public confession from the very beginning. When he was dying, he said to Hester that if they forgot God, they would have no hope to meet again. ″Thanks to Him who hath led me hither! …God knows; and he is merciful! ... Praise his name″! Died with God's salvation, he was content with being allowed to continuing serving in the other world.

2)Dimmesdale's self-torture out of his guilt

From the moment that Hester stood on the scaffold, Dimmesdale was tortured by his guilt. His cheek became paler and thinner, and his voice more tremulous than before. Pressing his hand over his heart even became his habit especially he was reminded of his sin. At the same time, he achieved popularity as a minister because his gift of communication and perception was strengthened by his own anguish and suffering, which gave him the ability to relieve his parishioners' pain. However, the more they worshiped him, the more he was tortured by his lie and concealment. Unluckily he was the one who hated lies most so he used a bloody scourge to lash his own shoulders, fasted as an act of penance and kept vigil night after night. After seven year’s self-torture, he was desperate to end this falsehood.

3)Dimmesdale's selfhood

Dimmesdale chose to confess in public for his own sake. At first, he believed that ″I f he confess his crime, his world will be lost, all that make sense to him is the helping of his fellow man ″(Donnell, Hawthorne and Dimmesdale, 320). so he concealed everything. He could not bear the thought of becoming useless. At the beginning, in order to remain his respected image and fulfill his own demand to serve God, he betrayed Hester and Pearl. Again, he finally chose to make a public