Blog Post #3- Critical Lens Experts: Scarlet Letter

The article SHAME CONFLICTS AND TRAGEDY IN THE SCARLET LETTER, by Benjamin Kilborne primarily focuses and analyzes the shame that Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale felt, claiming that “ Dimmesdale’s is more unbearable than Hester’s” and is “deeper and more toxic” (465). Kilborne takes note that while Hester’s shame is put out on her chest for the entire world to see, that having to keep the shame inside of you, like Dimsdale makes matters worse. Kilborne defines shame as, “a fundamental reaction to (and a defense against) “wrong feelings,” or being helpless in the face of the intensity of feelings, or being flooded by feelings one cannot understand”. This shame is dangerous not only because of its intensity of feelings it holds, but because of the threat it had to one's ego, composure, and self reliance (467). As the Scarlet Letter represents those things, Dimmsdale, unable to display these feelings is in fact dim and cold himself. It is here that Kilborne begins to make comparisons between the book and the author themselves. He notes that, “Dimmesdale is never able to come forward as a father, never able to value the father-child bond” (467), may represent Hawthorne’s own father as his passed away when he was 4. I took this to assume that Dimmesdale's actions and shame is coming from what Hawthorne would think that his own father would experience if he was still alive. These ideas of shame and how Dimmesdale's is worse than Hester’s made me think more about the perspective of the father. I had been reading this from such a personal biased view, that I haven’t thought to look deeper into Dimmesdale's own feelings to see how much shame he was actually feeling. I knew that the guilt of leaving Hester to deal with it on her own was on his heart, but I never thought to think and look for the shame he had within himself. After reading this article, I read through the book in a new light, figuring out which was worse-- the shame out in public display for the whole world to see, or it living inside you until the day you die, slowly threatening one’s composure and state of mind.