When Ms. Valentino asked the class if Dimmesdale was a
coward, my initial response was a resounding, YES. Honestly, whilst I denounced
Dimmesdale's actions as cowardly and himself as a milksop, I hadn't been able
to really connect with Dimmesdale's situation before, so I leaped at the delicious chance
to condemn him, as we humans love to do. My reasoning was this, because Dimmesdale didn't stand
up for Hester or Pearl by walking with them in public or admitting his own
sins, he was a coward. He was a coward for not allowing himself peace of mind
and for letting poor Hester suffer in shame. And he was a stupid coward for
trying to physically punish himself. "The truth will set you free, you
idiot," I thought.
***
I tend to live by a philosophy that makes me do stupid things. Like, really stupid things. Oftentimes, I don't bother to think about the repercussions of a particular decision I make, and so I end up hurting and confusing others in the process. For lack of a better acronym, I tend to YOLO. I tend to just go for things, and, for me, this foolish and naive philosophy was justification for calling Dimmesdale a coward. I thought that I was brave for being stupid. Yeah, I'm an idiot.
Only until very recently have I felt the gnawing tooth of remorse eating at my soul and wearing down my conscience. I now understand how hard it is to confront someone, how hard it is to embrace the truth. I realized that I'm a coward. But then I questioned myself, does the simple fact that doing something difficult seems intimidating make me a coward? Does being scared make me a coward? No, I realized. I'm not a coward or a milksop because I'm scared or hurt or confused. I'm only a coward if I refuse to face the truth in the end and proudly wear my scarlet letter.
Dimmesdale definitely has guilt, he definitely made a mistake, but wallowing in his private remorse doesn't make him a coward. The fact that he embraced the truth in the end makes him a personal hero.
I've now come to the conclusion that Dimmesdale is not cowardly or weak or stupid. He is simply human. He learned, while a bit too late, that the truth will set you free.
***
I tend to live by a philosophy that makes me do stupid things. Like, really stupid things. Oftentimes, I don't bother to think about the repercussions of a particular decision I make, and so I end up hurting and confusing others in the process. For lack of a better acronym, I tend to YOLO. I tend to just go for things, and, for me, this foolish and naive philosophy was justification for calling Dimmesdale a coward. I thought that I was brave for being stupid. Yeah, I'm an idiot.
Only until very recently have I felt the gnawing tooth of remorse eating at my soul and wearing down my conscience. I now understand how hard it is to confront someone, how hard it is to embrace the truth. I realized that I'm a coward. But then I questioned myself, does the simple fact that doing something difficult seems intimidating make me a coward? Does being scared make me a coward? No, I realized. I'm not a coward or a milksop because I'm scared or hurt or confused. I'm only a coward if I refuse to face the truth in the end and proudly wear my scarlet letter.
Dimmesdale definitely has guilt, he definitely made a mistake, but wallowing in his private remorse doesn't make him a coward. The fact that he embraced the truth in the end makes him a personal hero.
I've now come to the conclusion that Dimmesdale is not cowardly or weak or stupid. He is simply human. He learned, while a bit too late, that the truth will set you free.
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