In The Scarlet Letter, does Hester love Dimmesdale?
Yes, she loves him very much. Think about it. Despite being asked over and over again, and despite having to bear the brunt of her punishment, shame and degradation alone, Hester never reveals that Dimmesdale is the father of her child. She protects his identity fiercely, at great personal loss and sacrifice. This indicates thats she loves him very much. Later on in the novel, when she encounters him in the forest again, they both speak of love and of leaving together, running away to live where they won't be judged and criticized. That shows that she is willing to change her entire life to be with him--she loves him. Love brought them together in the first place, and love kept Hester silent about Dimmesdale's role in the affair. She knew that if Dimmesdale were exposed, it would ruin his life as a minister, and so many people looked up...
Unlock This Answer Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
to him and counted on him as their advisor and preacher. She didn't want to do that. She wanted thim to, on his own terms, and when he was ready, confess for himself. In the meantime, she bore double the criticism, double the judgment, and all of the gossip of the townspeople because she loved Dimmesdale enough to keep his secret safe.
"The Scarlet Letter" is at its surface a tale about a repressive Puritan community, and one woman's enduring spirit to overcome her circumstances, but underneath it all, it is a love story. It is a tale of two people who love each other very much, in a world that won't accept them for their love. Hester's love for Dimmesdale was a major force in her life, and it showed in her silence and willingness to go away with him, if he chose. I hope that those thoughts helped; good luck!
In The Scarlet Letter, did Hester ever love her husband?
No, Hester never loved her husband. Theirs was an arranged marriage. Hester is much younger than Roger and on top of that, the two had different temperaments: she was passionate and affectionate, while he was more intellectual and distant.
He only wanted a wife because he felt as a successful physician he should be married for propriety's sake, so he largely ignored her. However, he also seems to have expected some level of affection from her, since he expected such interactions whenever he spent time with her. It's safe to say Roger was a selfish man and not an ideal husband by anyone's standards.
Hester comes to despise Roger when he comes back into her life as Chillingworth; although, she does feel guilty about cheating on him.
In their conversation after Hester is allowed off the scaffold, Chillingworth confronts Hester. She makes the point that she never loved him and never "feigned" or pretended to love him. Chillingworth admits that he knew she didn't love him. What he wanted was a young, pretty wife to go along with his fortune. That is why he says he will take no revenge on Hester, but he will find out who the father of Pearl is and take revenge on him.
What quote shows Dimmesdale's love for Hester in The Scarlet Letter?
One of several quotations from The Scarlet Letter which shows that Dimmesdale is in love with Hester (and she with him) is:
Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a death-like slumber, must always create a sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance, that it overflows upon the outward world. Had the forest still kept its gloom, it would have been bright in Hester’s eyes, and bright in Arthur Dimmesdale’s!
These lines occur in chapter 18, when Hester has just persuaded Dimmesdale to leave Boston. He despondently asks whether she expects him to go alone, and she replies that she does not: she will go with him. As they make plans for a new life together, Dimmesdale is filled with energy and purpose. As the quotation above shows, his love for Hester makes everything appear beautiful in his eyes.
Dimmesdale’s love for Hester is, for the most part, presented obliquely in the novel. Dimmesdale is depicted as a conscientious person, tortured by guilt, who would never have committed what he regards as a terrible sin in the first place if he had not been uniquely drawn to Hester. His hypocrisy and concealment show a lack of courage, rather than a lack of love for Hester.