In Chapter X
of "" whenapparently drugs the
minister and pushes away his vestment, the physician
turns away. "But with
what a wild look of wonder, joy, and honor! With what a ghastly
rapture,
...too mighty to be expressed only by the eye...in ecstasy..." This passage
suggests to many readers that as a result of the insidious mental torture from the
physician and
the agony in his soul from guilt, the Reverend 's scarlet
letter on his chest becomes a physical
manifestation of this guilt(simply
appearing). It seems rather unlikely that Chillingworth would
be as ecstatic
as he is had Dimmesdale merely carved the letter onto his
chest.
However, since he did punish himself by self-flagellation in an
attempt
to atone for his sin, many readers feel that Dimmesdale may also have
made a self-inflicted
letter upon his chest. And, it is because he has made
this mark himself that Dimmesdale stands
"with a look of triumph in his face,
as one who, in the crisis of acutest pain, had won a
victory." Dimmesdale
has put the mark upon himself and has stood likeupon the scaffold.
Scourged
like a Christ-figure, he then dies.
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