Chapters 13 through 18 of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter move by slowly, with the focus around Pearl, Dimmesdale and Hester. I was surprised how little "love" was demonstrated by a couple that had a child together, let alone wanting to flee to Europe together. Barely more than a hand-holding event shows an example of the affection the reverend and Hester have for each other.
Hester herself seems to have been forgiven by the townspeople through her years of good deeds and helpfulness to those of the village, but at the same time hasn't forgiven herself. "Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?" they ... would say to strangers. "It is our Hester, —the town's own Hester, —who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!"
In the chapter where Hester and Arthur are in the forest, the topic of forgiveness comes around again. Dimmesdale will not forgive himself, but Hester makes it a point to tell him that God will forgive him if he does. The judgment of God is on me," answered the conscience-stricken ... priest. "It is too mighty for me to struggle with!" "Heaven would show mercy," rejoined Hester, "hadst thou but the strength to take advantage of it."
In a later part of the chapter, Dimmesdale begins to rebuke Hester with his maddening disgust for himself. "Thou shalt forgive me!" cried Hester, flinging herself on the ... fallen leaves beside him. "Let God punish! Thou shalt forgive!" Hester gets mad back at Dimmesdale, telling him that her God will judge and punish her but Dimmesdale will forgive her...which he does.
Is it more important for people to seek the forgiveness of others or from themselves? After an event, is it easier to be forgiven by others, or by yourself?
"...Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37
If you forgive yourself,you can find peace within and it shouldn't matter if you are forgiven by others.
I see your point, but that sounds more like it comes from Hester's point of view, not Dimmesdale's. Whereas Hester's crime is in the open, Dimmesdale's is not. Whereas Hester is a common woman, Dimmesdale is in a position of power. And whereas Hester has come to terms with her own guilt and being the bearer of the bastard child known as Pearl, Dimmesdale has not.
It is my thought that every bad thing the scarlet A should mean, every bad feeling it should invoke, for Hester, because the A itself is external, it means nothing at this point. But for Dimmesdale, it is internal, something we know that has been eating away at him for years...to the point that he had to physicalize the letter on his own body, yet it is STILL hidden...so if Hester's A is earthly, and Dimmesdale's internalization s Heavenly, his hidden physical A puts him in a purgatory between the two.
I think is really hard for someone to forgive themselves even after they have been forgiven by others. Sometimes, we can be our biggest critics and our worst enemies.
I completely agree. And you and I, as performers, know how that feels. I just did an opera in August, and for the first performance, I missed an entrance. I felt so bad, it threw off the rest of the night for me. The conductor came up to me afterwards and wanted to beat me for tearing myself up about it. He even called the next day to make sure I was okay for it. Sometimes I wonder if the idea of God is more than all our religious leaders make it out to be. Maybe it is more about self-awareness and our own ability to make things right with our heads and hearts.
I agree it can be hard to forgive yourself, but we are not perfect. Doing something unintentional, such as missing an entrance, is upsetting I'm sure, but certainly not unforgiveable. We learn from our mistakes. Hester learned from her mistake. As for Dimmesdale, had he owned up to his part from the beginning, he probably would had forgiven himself long ago instead of living a lie and letting it build within him.