e in the sin. His sigh of relief at his own safety contrastsunfavorably with his lack of sighs over Hester's suffering. While Dimmesdale does torture himself in private even to the pointof death, he is unwilling to face the total rejection that Hester is forced tobear alone. He does not show the courage and devotion that Hester does inthe face of public humiliation. Throughout Hester's entire ordeal, Dimmesdale lends her his support only once, to keep the town leadersfrom taking Pearl, his daughter, away from his former lover. He neverforgives Hester, or gives her gifts of money or anything material orimmaterial to sustain her in her residence in the woods. He blames Hesterfor concealing Chillingworth's identity , saying "Woman, thou artaccountable for this! I cannot forgive thee!" Hester never even blamedDimmesdale for making her take the public punishment alone, while he cannot even forgive her fear of her husband. When Hester meets Dimmesdale in the forest and throws her armsaround him, she begs him for forgiveness. Hawthorne says: "He wouldhave released himself, but strove in vain to do so. Hester would not set himfree." This is similar to Dimmesdale's actions throughout the story. All hewishes is to be free of Hester, so that he can return to his successful role asa minister, without constant self-doubt. Just after this quote, Hawthornespeaks of how the whole world and even heaven itself had frowned uponher; "But the frown of this pale, weak, sinful, and sorrow-stricken man waswhat Hester could not bear and live!" She cares more about Dimmesdalethan she does about her own soul or position in life. He seems to care more about himself and about escaping from her. Another noticeable action of Dimmesdale's that leads to theconclusion that he does not love Hester is that he is unworried about the state of her soul. He leads her on in the forest, claiming love and agreeingto run away to another place with her and Pearl, but his actions d...
