Disclaimer: Sugarpony neither owns nor wishes to own The Scarlet Letter.
---
Chapter Three
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale
---
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, as aforementioned, was my progenitor. He was the one who committed that horrible crime with Hester Prynne and then left her to endure her punishment alone. I had known from the moment I first met him that there was something special in him.
It was the house of Governor Bellingham which Mother had taken me to that day. I did not know her true intentions; I simply assumed she needed to return the governor?s gloves which she had embroidered. We waited for a little bit before we finally were approached by him, and when we were, he brought others with him. It is true, the governor had guests that day. One was the master of the church, Wilson; another was the doctor, Chillingworth; and the final was none other than the minister Dimmesdale. Governor Bellingham spoke to Mother, and his words surprised me. He wanted to take me away from her! He wanted to take me away from my own mother and to place me with one of the Puritan creatures! Mother asked him to not do this, but he did not comply. Finally, she turned to Reverend Dimmesdale, and she begged him to speak on her behalf.
It was the first time I myself had met the man, but he stirred something in me. He did present a case for Mother, and he did convince the governor to let Mother and me alone. After he had finished and was concealing himself in the shadows-- and I still know not what compelled me to do it-- I walked to him, and I rested my cheek on his hand. Perhaps I was grateful to this man for helping Mother and me, or perhaps I had sensed the connection between us three that lingers still today. I allowed him, a stranger-- and one of the Puritans, yet!-- to kiss my brow before the spell wore off and I flew away. The man was most peculiar.
Our next encounter was in the dark of night, and it was then I learned of his secret. He was the man who sinned with my mother. He was the man who left her to wallow in shame and torture alone! That night, I asked him to bear his secret to the rest of the town, but he refused. It was then that some feeling of which I know not grew within me. From then on, I despised that man. I did not wish to acknowledge or accept him until he confessed, and yet I knew that once he did all would be forgiven. The minister did confess in the light of day, and even though he was at death's door, I did forgive him. He had finally proven himself to be a true human being when he stood on the scaffold with Mother and I that day; he bore his heart, which he so desperately kept hidden, to the rest if the world. And because of this, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale brought forth that emotion which had been shown at the governor's house once again.
This time, it did not fade.