deemable soul. This is because he deliberately chooses evil. He commits the unpardonable sin according to Hawthorne. He not only doomed himself, but he violated the sanctity of another human heart. Chillingworth wastes his life on getting revenge on Dimmesdale. Chillingworth allows himself to become so obsessed with Dimmesdale that he loses his own identity. His only focus in life it to make Dimmesdale suffer. Exposure and public humiliation is not a high enough price for Dimmesdale to pay for Chillingworth. He wants to destroy Dimmesdale. Chillingworth can=t get revenge on Hester directly, but in a way, he still does. By destroying Hester=s one true love, he destroys a part of her.Arthur Dimmesdale is a weak and vulnerable character. In a way, he brings it upon himself. Dimmesdale isolates himself from the real word and wallows in self pity and guilt. Although, Dimmesdale needs the real word. He feeds off of his minister status even though he is alienated from the other parishioners. The public praise, adoration, and respect isolates Dimmesdale even more by making him incapable of revealing his sin. Because he doesn=t confess, Dimmesdale=s deep-rooted guilt eats away at him. He finally confesses because he realizes that confessing is the only way to escape Chillingworth. When he confesses, he takes away Chillingworth=s reason for living because Chilingworth lived to make Dimmesdale suffer. Dimmesdale wastes his life by not even living it anymore. His guilt kills him because he lets it.It appears that Hawthorne believed that people had to have a balance between their hearts, minds, and spirits. Hester letting her heart rule her life destroys her, Chillingworth allowing his mind to drift off and only think of evil ruins him, and Dimmesdales obsession with his Alost@ soul brings him to his demise. Each of these characters committed a hidden sin; they wasted what they were and what they could have been....
