Potpourri
100
Why is the chapter called “The Minister in a Maze”?
Dimmesdale is having a difficult time distinguishing the difference between fantasy and reality, as he can't comprehend the fact that his life is changing rapidly. or: Dimmesdale is undergoing a confusing moral conflict, as if trapped in a maze.
200
What is the source of Dimmesdale's cognitive dissonance throughout the chapter? How does it cause this internal conflict?
His acceptance of Hester's offer, as it violated his principles, forcing him to abandon them, and thus change his way of thought and his identity. He became morally lost without his Puritan values to guide him, and thus became an even more troubled mind than before.
300
What does Dimmesdale take as his greatest evidence that he is a corrupt soul?
When he talks to Mrs. Hibbins, "the reputed witch-lady"(194), she looks to him as if they have "a secret intimacy of connection."(195) He thinks that, through her supposed "intimacy", he has a "fellowship with the wicked mortals and the world of perverted spirits."(195)
400
In what way(s) does Dimmesdale experience the element of the supernatural during the chapter?
When he writes his Election Sermon as if possessed by a godly power. or: In his strange thoughts, which he attributes to "a contract with"(194) the "fiend"(194). He thinks himself on some level possessed by the devil, forced to act on "every wickedness which his most foul imagination can conceive..."(194)
500
What four temptations does Dimmesdale face on his way home? What does Dimmesdale assume is the source of these temptations? What alternate explanation does the narrator offer? What further explanations for Dimmesdale’s “temptation” might be apparent to a modern reader?
The four temptations that Dimmesdale encounters on his way home are: the conversation he had with the Deacon, what Mistress Hibbins spoke into Dimmesdale’s ears about going to the woods with her at night, lusting towards a young woman, and almost teaching bad things to the youth of the town. Dimmesdale thinks these temptations are the result of signing his name over to the Black Man, and doing his work, or that he has gone insane. The narrator gives us the perspective that Dimmesdale might be falling in love, and the romantic traits are taking him over. To the modern reader, these temptations could be caused by his moral conscience taking over, just like any other human being.
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