llingworth tries to stop him but Dimmesdale mounts the platform and begins his confession, naming himself “the one sinner of the world” (237). Near the end he tears away his ministerial band to reveal his own red mark of shame (239) and with his confession completed Dimmesdale dies. People who witnessed the third scaffold scene do not agree upon what they saw later on. Some say the mark came from his own self-torture, and some believe it was from Chillingworth’s poisonous magic, or that Dimmesdale’s inner remorse caused it, while others claim they saw nothing at all (240). The revelation bestowed in this third scaffold scene is that every man, no matter his status, can be guilty of the same sin as Hester. The last scaffold scene is the climax of the novel. All the characters that have been affected by the scarlet letter, Hester Prynn, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Pearl, are standing together on the platform before the public (236). This is where the narrator gives Dimmesdale his own voice, rather than giving a description of his speeches. When Dimmesdale confesses he is finally allowed to end his own suffering, to foil Chillingworth’s plan for revenge and settle matters with God and his parishioners. By taking powers within his own hands he manages to save himself and captivate the hearts of the townfolk, which allow him to die in the moment of his greatest glory.Henceforth, it is seen that the scaffold is a place of shame and pity but ironically it ends up being the place where a great triumph has occurred....
