A Vision of Guilt

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Page 114

Mr. Dimmesdale, the clergyman and Hester's Pastor is experiencing extreme guilt for causing Hester to wear the scarlet letter as he is the father of her child.

"And now, through the chamber which these spectral thoughts had made so ghastly, glided Hester Prynne, leading along little Pearl, in her scarlet garb, and pointing her forefinger, first at the scarlet letter on her bosom, and then at the clergyman's own breast."

This is the turning point for Dimmesdale, where he is starting to feel overwhelmed and suffocated by the guilt of his sin. Roger Chillingworth has been prying at the clergyman and trying to get him to admit his sin. He feels so guilty in fact that he is imagining Hester revealing him as a sinner. This quote shows that human nature is trying to avoid getting caught in a wrong and ultimately feeling guilty.