||Scarlet Letter 6: 126-144||

“To the untrue man, the whole universe is false,—it is impalpable,—it shrinks to nothing within his grasp. And he himself, in so far as he shows himself in a false light, becomes a shadow, or indeed, ceases to exist” (133).

• Through this quote, Dimmesdale does not explicitly admit to being an “untrue man” simply because he does not view himself as one. Through his explanation of what an untrue man is, it is evident that he may be stepping into this direction, however, what is stopping him is the pain he feels within and his acknowledgement of the sin. If that is what hinders Dimmesdale from being considered an untrue man, we can then assume that an untrue man is naive and portrays a false character only to conceal his wrongdoing for the betterment of himself. However, Dimmesdale clearly explicates his reasoning for hiding his secret as a means of keeping the townspeople’s best interests in mind.
  
  Would it be better to admit his sin so the townspeople are aware of the truth and realize that Dimmesdale is simply a flawed human being like themselves?

“‘Then, and there, before the judgment-seat, thy mother, and thou, and I must stand together. But the daylight of this world shall not see our meeting!”’ (139).

• Although Dimmesdale teetered from one means of obtaining redemption to another, he finally chooses one and holds his stance. Throughout the novel, it is evident that the reason for Dimmesdale’s concealment of his sin, was because he understood that only God could judge him. However, upon the arrival of Chillingworth’s torture and guilt, he becomes distraught and considers the option of confessing to the whole town: “He had been driven hither by the impulse of that Remorse which dogged him everywhere” (134). When coming into contact with Hester and Pearl, he comes to his senses. Ultimately, Dimmesdale realizes that his true judgment comes solely from God and on judgment day is when Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl will stand together. When comparing The Crucible, we see a correlation between both Dimmesdale and Proctor. Proctor however, suffered through his misguided search for redemption and came to the conclusion that only God can judge him toward the end of all the tumult, whereas Dimmesdale had this mentality from the beginning.
  
  What will Dimmesdale do if the townspeople become aware of his sinful act?
  (I wasn’t sure of the townspeople found out or not)