The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a novel about a woman, named Hester Prynne, who is ostracized and punished as a sinner for committing adultery. Hester Prynne will not reveal Pearl's father, further calming her about her town and herself. Hester Prynne is a character that readers generally sympathize with because she feels within herself the need to protect everyone who has done harm, which earns her a public punishment of standing on the scaffold for three hours. On the other hand, Reverend Master Dimmesdale, Pearl's father, is one of the evildoers protected by Hester Prynne and the town. Various readers seem to sympathize with Dimmesdale's personality, but his personality should not be taken lightly. Reverend Master Dimmesdale is not a character to be sympathized with, as his true personality shows otherwise. There is no doubt that individuals generally sympathize with Reverend Master Dimmesdale simply by considering his reputation within his town. Everyone in the town has a high opinion of Reverend Master Dimmesdale as they admire his respectful and pious youth. “His eloquence and religious fervor had already earned him high eminence in his profession” (61). This quote may be taken as the fact that Reverend Master Dimmesdale had such eloquence and great warmth which gave him a very high rank in his profession. This quote can also be explained by the fact that Nathaniel Hawthorne was trying to get the reader to sympathize with Reverend Master Dimmesdale. The words he used to describe him were strong and powerful words that persuade individuals to think highly of him. He has such a mental effect on the townspeople, they talk about how they think he would mentally react to certain situations....... middle of paper ......e sympathy from individuals in giving a dying speech, he should never have silenced the person who always protected him. This just shows why Reverend Master Dimmesdale should not be sympathized with. Nonetheless, Reverend Master Dimmesdale was never someone an individual should sympathize with at first, as his true personality shows his manipulation, cowardly ways, and evil heart. He is divided, trapped by his society and constantly disowns Hester, which brings out these qualities in his personality. If Reverend Master Dimmesdale ever revealed his sin earlier in the novel, such as in the scene where Hester Prynne was publicly punished, many people would not sympathize with him. If individuals sympathized with him, it would only show the double standards that are used in modern and even past societies...