In the novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes a duality between mercy and sin that manifests itself in the character of Arthur Dimmesdale. Throughout the plot, Dimmesdale is presented as a faithful and religious minister. Hawthorne describes this primarily by detailing the power of Dimmesdale's sermons and the effects they have on his congregation. Furthermore, Dimmesdale is depicted as a person of decadent emotional stability, who digresses into a nervous breakdown as the story progresses. He becomes physically fragile and shows his internal turmoil by placing his hand on his heart auspiciously. Hawthorne further establishes Dimmesdale's character through the lens of hypocrisy, especially through the questions posed by his illegitimate daughter Pearl. Hawthorne uses both direct and indirect characterization to present Dimmesdale's character as pious, increasingly nervous, and hypocritical. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWhen Dimmesdale is first introduced to the reader, he is shown as a faithful minister who is fulfilling his religious duties while questioning Hester about the paternity of her son. Hawthorne establishes Dimmesdale as a deeply religious pillar of the community, whose “eloquence and religious fervor had already given the warrant of high eminence in his profession” (46). Hawthorne shows that the minister is respected and revered in Puritan society. Hawthorne most effectively shows the piety instilled in Dimmesdale by showing the degree to which his sermons influence his audience. Hawthorne writes that when Dimmesdale preaches to the townspeople, his words "struck them like the speech of an angel" (46). The intense piety with which Dimmesdale speaks demonstrates that he is passionately spiritual and that he is able to use his education, eloquence, and religious fervor to influence members of his society. Hawthorne further establishes Dimmesdale as a pious character by contrasting him with Roger Chillingworth's foil. The two men are both described as respected and studious. However, Chillingworth is depicted as some sort of demon, who the town's inhabitants believe is "Satan himself, or an emissary of Satan" (88). Dimmesdale, by comparison, is portrayed as a saint, who is “regarded by his most fervent admirers as little less than a heaven-ordained apostle” (82). Hawthorne uses the distinction between the demon-like Chillingworth and the saintly Dimmesdale to expose the minister's humility and pious nature. Even when Dimmesdale admits that he is guilty of adultery and dies at the end of the novel, many townspeople still wholeheartedly insist that he was only trying to create an analogy for his sin. They are unable to associate it with any kind of unholy transgression, because their perception of their minister as a heavenly emissary is deeply ingrained in the city's collective psyche. Hawthorne establishes throughout the novel that Dimmesdale is a man of deep religious feeling, capable of influencing his parishioners with his innate eloquence and piety. Despite Dimmesdale's inherent piety, Hawthorne also establishes him as a character with a guilty conscience. This is evident in Dimmesdale's emotional state, which worsens as the story progresses. Hawthorne initially shows this in a physical description, when Dimmesdale stands over Hester while she is on the scaffold and tries to get her to reveal who her fellow sinner is. The situation is not without irony, as the father is obviously Dimmesdale himself. However, Dimmesdale tries hard to hide it, and "the difficult nature of his position drew blood from him.