Scarlet Letter Symbols

There are always two sides to a story; well the same could be said for another person. People in society act differently when they're in public, but when in private they will show their true selves. The same idea occurs in The Scarlet Letter. In the story three characters show two different personalities when in public and in private, and they're Hester, Chillsingworth, and Dimmsdale.

The first character to show two different personalities when in public and private is Hester. Before Hester was forced to wear the scarlet letter she was able to show a different persona in public. She was able to find the act of her sin of adultery and showed herself as nothing as happened. In private she boor the weight of her sin and was emotionally distraught because of her actions. When she was forced to wear the scarlet letter she was also forced to show this identity. Latter in the story her personalities start to separate again. In public she seems like a strong willed woman that will never give up. In reality she is strong willed but she is very lonely and sometimes depressed. When the council almost took Pearl away from her she said to Miss Hibbins "Had they taken her from me, I would willingly have gone into with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man's book too,". This shows without Pearl she would have gone and signed her soul to the devil. Hester in the end combines these two personas into one and shows her private life in public. Hester Prynne is a prime example of having a private and public persona.

The final person with two different personas is Dimmsdale. Dimmsdale is the best example of having a different public and private life. In public everyone in the town admires him for his knowledge of the bible and his charisma. In private through he is grief driven because of the sin he committed with Hester. The grief of not exposing his sin is killing him and making him weak. He even beats himself on the back and fasts because of his guilt. No one knows of his private life expect Chillingsworth and later Hester when she sees him in the forest where he says ' "Hester! Hester Prynee!" Said he "Is it thou? Art thou in life?" '. It is not until he confesses his sin on the scaffold and is kissed by Pearl that he is finally relived of his guilt. In the end people finally realize who Dimmsdale truly was. Dimmsdale was the perfect example of someone with different personas in private and in public.

In the Scarlet Letter three people who show different personas when alone or around people are Hester, Chillingsworth, and Dimmsdale. Hester is forced to show her true personality when given the A but soon develops a new one because of her loneliness. The next person is Chillingsworth who becomes the embodiment of evil to get revenge on Dimmsdale. The final person is Dimmsdale who creates a new persona because of his grief and guilt for his sins but finally relieves