The Scarlet Letter 10

"Partly supported by Hester Prynne, and holding one hand of little Pearl's, the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale turned to the dignified and venerable rulers...to put in his plea of guilty at the bar of Eternal Justice"(227).

Judgement day has finally come, and the third scaffold scene has now unfolded. This specific moment in the novel where Dimmesdale confesses his sin to the public has been alluded to by many different characters in the novel, including Hawthorne, who once again brings all of the main characters together in one specific place to bring attention to the changes that each character has experienced and feelings that are felt by each character, specifically Dimmesdale. Hawthorne specifically describes Dimmesdale at the end as independently confessing his sin, something he has been struggling with since Hester's conviction seven years ago. Also, Hawthorne explains through Dimmesdale, that there is no greater judge than God and that the future of ones life can only be determined by the lord. More importantly, this scene resembles Dimmesdale's freedom or rebirth, as well as his glorified fall or death (he is only dead to some people). He got what many men hope for before they pass on into the next world, redemption and relief.

"ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A, GULES"(235).

Before his saint-like demise Dimmesdale constantly proposed the question and idea about life after the puritan society and their plan to escape their life and trade it for one with more opportunity goodness. Even before his confession and death, Dimmesdale contemplated on the thought that life would be better if they had gone away, which would have been false. No matter where Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl might have gone, sin would always follow and torment their souls, even though it may have adopted new meanings. In the last words of the novel, it is explained that Hester was buried right next to Dimmesdale, and although they were buried separately they were joined together by the single tombstone reading: "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules." My point being that although they were separated, they were together due to an inseperable bond and passion, the scarlet A, which will forever give them life after they have gone.