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The Scarlet Letter Hypocrisy Quotes Page 1
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
| Quote #1 "Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin?" (3.26) |
Dimmesdale, Hester’s lover, charges her publicly to reveal the name of her partner. He suggests that allowing the lover to be a hypocrite will do great damage to his soul (foreshadowing…). Yet, even as he suggests this, Dimmesdale is unwilling to open himself up to public scrutiny. What do you think would happen if Hester were to respond to Dimmesdale’s plea at this moment with, "The father of my love child is the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale" – what do you think he would do? Would the townspeople believe her?
| Quote #2 Would not the people start up in their seats, by a simultaneous impulse, and tear him down out of the pulpit which he defiled? Not so, indeed! They heard it all, and did but reverence him the more. They little guessed what deadly purport lurked in those self-condemning words. "The godly youth!" said they among themselves. "The saint on earth! (11.7) |
The funny thing is that Dimmesdale confesses his sin to his congregation – though not specifically enough to be believed. He tells them he’s a bad man, a sinful man. However, this "confession" only makes him seem more divine in the eyes of his parishioners. A self-effacing person was a good person in the eyes of this community; Dimmesdale’s apparent humility makes him seem like a positive role model to his congregation. Had Dimmesdale given specific information while condemning himself on the pulpit (i.e., "I am Hester Prynne’s lover"), the parishioners most likely would not love him so much anymore.
| Quote #3 "Nay; not so, my little Pearl!" answered the minister; for, with the new energy of the moment, all the dread of public exposure, that had so long been the anguish of his life, had returned upon him; and he was already trembling at the conjunction in which—with a strange joy, nevertheless—he now found himself. "Not so, my child. I shall, indeed, stand with thy mother thee one other day, but not to-morrow!" (12.17-28) |
Pearl is one perceptive pumpkin. She nails Dimmesdale’s hypocrisy on the nose. We see in this moment why the Reverend is trapped in hypocrisy: he is absolutely terrified of "public exposure." He’s kind of a coward, no? Especially when we consider the suffering Hester has endured.
