Hawthornes Scarlet Letter - Tragic Hero or Merely Tragic? :: Scarlet Letter essays

Arthur Tragic Hero or Merely Tragic? In Nathaniel Hawthornes torrid tale of The Scarlet Letter, Arthur Dimmesdale, a main character, is confronted with a number of circumstances, both in and out of his control, that lead to his ultimate demise.  While it can be argued that Arthur is a tragic hero, he lacks the underlying good and strength essential for him to fulfill this role.  Otherwise, it may be demonstrated that Arthur meets all the criteria as a tragic hero, though there are other discrepancies to be noted. Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister, lives his life under the watchful yet admiring eye of the townspeople of Boston and, as a result, becomes a slave to the public opinion.  His sin against Hester and dip is that he will not acknowledge them as his wife and daughter in the daylight.  He keeps his dreadful secret from all those under his care in the church for seven years for fear that he will lose their love and they will not forgive him.  He is too weak to take his sins openly and in their entirety.   Instead, he allows his parishioners to lift him in their esteem by confessing, in all humility, that he is a sinner The minister well knew--subtle just now remorseful hypocrite that he was--the light in which his vague confession would be viewed. (127)  They love him all the more for his honest and humble character, and this is Arthurs intent.  Even as he plans to run away with Hester four days after their meeting in the forest, he comforts himself with the knowledge that he will give his harangue on predestination on the third day, and thus will leave his community with fond memories of his final exhortation.  Arthurs flaw can be found in the fact that he chooses to value the public view above those of Hester, his love, and God, his master. Arthur, punishing himself for his ugly secret, which his need for public affirmation will not let him reveal, bit by bit kills himself through guilt and masochisti c ritual.       His inward trouble drove him more in accordance with the old, corrupted faith of Rome, than with the better light of the church in which he had been born and bred. In Mr. Dimmesdales secret closet, under lock and key, there was a bloody scourge.  Oftentimes, this Protestant and Puritan divine had plied it on his own shoulders express mirth bitterly at himself all the while.