ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Chillingworth wants to continue to torture Dimmesdale. Chillingworth fears that he will be blamed for Hester’s infidelity.

Detailed explanation-2: -What measures does Dimmesdale take in an attempt to penance for his sins? He tortures himself through whipping, fasting, and keeping vigils.

Detailed explanation-3: -He wants him to confess to something. What does Dimmesdale say about confessing hidden crimes? “There can be, if I forbode aright, no power, short of the Divine mercy, to disclose, whether by uttered words, or by type or emblem, the secrets that may be buried in the human heart.

Detailed explanation-4: -In what way are Dimmesdale’s “confessions” hypocritical? Because he knows he is preaching one thing after doing something that contradicts everything that he said.