The Scarlet Letter 6: P126-144

I. Quotations
1. But this very burden it was that gave him sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his heart vibrated in unison with theirs, and received their pain into itself, and sent its own throb of pain through a thousand other hearts, in gushes of sad, persuasive eloquence. (page 129)

• Dimmesdale's guilt is burning him from inside and out. He desperately wants to confess and "let the universe take care of it" (120), but he cannot. As the most venerable and intellectual minister in town, he is a representation of God. If he stands out and say he have sinned, the reputation of Christianity will be ruin. People will lose their faith because Dimmesdale, a flawless and holy priest in their eyes, is, at last, a sinner. This young and doubtful minister is perplexed by a moral dilemma - let go his feelings of guilt by confession and let the whole community lose their faith; or, which is what he is doing now, bearing the burden of sin by himself and let the guilt eating away his health. We can see the same type of moral dilemma on Danforth in the play, The Crucible. This is a special kind of Pride - the blindly Pride to defend the divinity of God.
  

2. He had striven to put a cheat upon himself by making the avowal of a guilty conscience, but had gained only one other sin, and a self-acknowledged shame, without the momentary relief of being self-deceived. (page 131)

• This quote reveals that in Dimmesdale's mind, confessing his sin in public is only a portion of his redemptive process. He still believes that ultimate redemption is granted by God, not the society. Speaking out his guilt will only lead to another sin - staining the holiness of God. Therefore, on the other hand, we can see Dimmesdale as a selfless person. He is willing to bear his sin by himself instead of throwing it to the public and ruin the reputation of Christianity. However, as the quote said, hiding the secret is just being self-deceived. Although the good name of Church is preserved, the guilt is still there, eagerly to be unveiled at some point. So from some perspectives, Dimmesdale is not suffering from his guilt, but from his lies; yet, it is still a sin though.
  

II. Discussing Questions
1.Does Pearl know that Dimmesdale is her father?

2. At the end of this chapter, the old sexton said the scarlet letter apparared in the sky represents the word Angel. Is this an implication of the shifting meaning of the scarlet letter?