Dimmesdale's Secret Garden
...true guilt during Hester’s humiliation on the scaffold. Dimmesdale, trembling and dark, spoke many hidden meanings and messages in his speech, such as: “…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.” There was much significance in Dimmesdale’s plea. Arthur suggests here that the unnamed father had a high job, and by her naming him, that would relieve the father’s guilt. She refused. However, no one would have predicted that Dimmesdale could have committed such an atrocious act that would blacken the town of Boston by words that there were “unclean” as well as unfaithful villagers in the sparkling Puritan town. Dimmesdale often preached about faithfulness and lust, trying to cleanse the town, when really he was trying to cleanse his own soul. There was someone however, who had a suspicion about Arthur Dimmesdale being involved in the tangled web of Hester’s unidentified mate. That man was Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth is Hester’s long lost husband from England, who was supposedly dead, but unexpectedly shows up in Boston. A physician by trade, their paths cross when Dimmesdale’s health slowly diminishes. His poor health shows in his work and in his attitude. Arthur’s soul is now wilting, so the ill minister, and the odd-physician, both of whom love Hester, become inseparable. Chillingworth eventually moves into Dimmesdale’s apartment, and Chillingworth’s exploration progresses. One can perceive here that Chillingworth is now beginning to garden on Dimmesdale’s canopy of ivy surrounding his soul. Exceedingly anxious to find answers, Chillingworth takes heed of any unusual hint or gesture that might serve as any sort of clue that could answer his investigation. After searching long and hard, Chillingworth finally probes deep enough and discovers a scarlet letter “A” embedded by scars permanently in his chest. The secret garden is open and revealed. With the ivy now fallen, Arthur and Hester meet in the forest. There, even more truth is revealed as Hester confesses to Arthur that Chillingworth is her husband. Dimmesdale is shocked and outraged. Dimmesdale states that he knew Chillingworth’s identity, but con...