Possible Spoiler alert....
If my guess is correct.
Every time I see
Dimmesdale's name all I can think of is this guy from Fairly Odd Parents.
But on a more serious note, After reading this far in
the book I think that it is "fairly" obvious who the father of
Hester's child is. He is basically the only person who has not appeared
to do something right out to hurt them. If you could not already tell, I
think the baby-daddy is Mr. Dimmesdale. Ever since he defended Hester and
helped her keep Pearl in her care I have wondered about this guy. But not I am
willing say it out loud. Not only did he help Hester keep Pearl, but at
the beginning of the book on page 49, a woman said that the reverend “takes it
very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon his
congregation.” (49). Then again on page
65 Dimmesdale is telling Hester to say who the father of Pearl was if it would
put her soul at peace. And he also tells
her not to take pity on him just because she has feelings for the man (also
known as himself).
Along with this When Dimmesdale gets sick he says that
he does not want any medication. (From whom
of all people, Chillingsworth).
Dimmesdale believes that if he is sick it is by God’s will that he would
die. Although Chillingsworth says he is
being too harsh on himself, Dimmesdale does not feel the same way. Which I think is a clear indication that he
feels like he is a sinner and a bad person in the eyes of God. Dimmesdale even says that if he were a better
person he would feel more inclined to take medicine and stay on the Earth to
help people.
What then seems to be even more ironic is that
Chillingsworth who said he would like to kill the man who is Pearl’s father, is the one who is trying
to take care of Dimmesdale! The two of
them even shared a house so that Chillingsworth could be close to Dimmesdale
for treatment. But it did say that the
people in the town had been seeing a change in Chillingsworth since his first
arrival… So could he be catching on to Dimmesdale (if he even is the father)?
If Dimmesdale is the
Pearl’s father then Nathaniel Hawthorne must have a since of humor. But if he does not have a sense of humor
Hawthorne could be trying to convey a message that is really deep. Hawthorne could be trying to say that
although people do things that are not socially acceptable, or that they
regret, that were bad along with many other thing, it does not make them bad
people. On mistake or slip up does not necessarily
define a person and their life. When
Hawthorne shows that Dimmesdale is not afraid of or opposed to death he also
shows that people are can feel their own burden and shame without public scrutiny,
and that it is not always our place to say what others are doing wrong with
their lives.
A lot of people in probably all of our lives, including
myself, can probably relate to that piece of advice and attempt to live by it
more in the future.
9 comments:
I totally agree with you when you say Dimmesdale is the father. And I really liked your interpretation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's sense of humor. I really never thought about it the way that you did, and I think it also shows that he also has a very fair mind, and he believes to not judge a book by its cover, and I like the way he interprets that throughout the story so far!
I really liked the picture you added regarding Fairy Oddparents! Like you and Leah, I totally agree that it is obvious that Dimmesdale is Pearl's father.I do think as well that CHillingsworth is catching on to this because he is so attached to him and now wants to kill him.
Good job catching the irony in the fact that Chillingworth said he would like to kill Pearls father and yet he is taking care of Dimmesdale I didn't even make that connection. But I think Dimmesdale is the father since he sided with Hester and got her to keep Pearl.
I really liked your post! And I completely agree that Dimmesdale is Pearl's father. Hawthorne gives a lot of hints pointing to him. I feel like Chillingsworth also suspects a connection between Hester, Pearl and Dimmesdale, I'm just not sure if he has realized exactly what that connection is yet. Btw, I really liked the Fairly Oddparents connection you made!
Just like all of you, I also believe that Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. Shocking right. Its funny how the husband and who I believe is the adulterist are living in the same roof together. Personally I think that Chillingworth is a crazy man.Maybe spending to much time in the wilderness with the Indians got to his head. I don't know what he will do if he found out that Dimmesdale is the father. My guess is he will do something bad to him.
OMG! I think of the Fairy OddParents too! I'm glad I'm not the only one haha but yeah I definitely agree when you say that it was kinda obvious from the beginning (if you read closely enough) that Dimmesdale was the father. He was pretty guilty from the start. I picked up on the Chillingworth and Dimmesdale thing too. Like, they're living together and I think there was a message in that as well. I feel the message might've been more like "enemy under your nose" kinda thinking that your enemy is so close yet you can't even fight him if you dont know who it is.
At first when I saw Dimmesdale I would think the Fairy Odd Parents(well at least we know where they got the name from). In all seriousness I feel that Dimmesdale being the father has a lot of guilt that has been built probably since the first time him and Hester had intercourse. The fact that he had to be there and watch her be punished for what they both created is hurting him more (from a males perspective-gender lens) because he's supposed to be there and protect her no matter what the public views (he obviously loves her).
I agree with your idea that Dimmesdale is Pearl's father. Throughout the chapter there are plently of subtle hints being dropped pointing to that theory like the way Pearl looks at Dimmesdale and how she touched Dimmesdale's face as if he was her father. I also like your Fairy Odd Parents reference. Great post Lauren!
Great job! Good comments!
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