Scarlet letter blog 8

“If in all these past seven years,” thought he, “I could recall one instant of peace or hope, I would yet endure, for the sake of that earnest of Heaven’s mercy. But how, - since I am irrevocably doomed, - wherefore should I not snatch the solace allowed to the condemned culprit before his execution?"

The previous statement is of Mr. Dimmesdale after he got reacquainted, with Hester, after seven years. This sentence really shows Mr. Dimmesdale’s conscious. He feels bad knowing that for the last seven years he has avoided the punishment he rightfully deserved. Hest had been alone, suffering ever since the time that she got pregnant with pearl, seven years previously. Mr. Dimmesdale the town minister, was never caught in is adulterous act and therefore got away without having to pay any of the punishment he deserved. As seen in the quoted sentence, Mr. Dimmesdale had been tortured by his conscious. As he lets himself get clost to Hester again his conscious gets worse. For the previous years Mr. Dimmesdale had been avoiding Hester and any thoughts or feelings he had toward her. But now that they had rejoined their friendship he had been questioning his decision to stay hidden from the authorities. After all didn’t he deserve to be punished just as much as Hester did? If that wasn’t enough torture, he knew he owed it to Hester to stand through the humiliation with her. Instead he was facing the regret of knowing that he left her all alone to deal with the affliction as well as raising their little girl all by herself. He knew deep down that he needed to confess to the town that he, their minister that they respected, was the father of Hester’s child.

This sentence is a leading thought into Mr. Dimmesdale telling the authorities and community that he is to blame for adultery with Hester Prynne. His conscious had been pressuring him to tell, so this sentence is one of Mr. Dimmesdale’s final conclusions before telling that town of his sin.