The Scarlet Letter involves many characters that go through
several changes during the course of the story. In particular,
the young minister Dimmesdale, who commits adultery with
Hester, greatly changes. He is the moral blossom of the
book, the character that makes the most progress for the
better.

It is true that Dimmesdale, being a minister, should be the
role model of the townspeople. He is the last person who
should commit such an awful crime and lie about it, but in the
end, he confesses to the town. Besides, everybody,
including ministers, sin, and the fact that he confesses
illustrates his courage and morality.

Hester and Dimmesdale’s affair goes undiscovered until
Hester is pregnant and bears a child without having her
husband present. As her punishment, Hester is forced to
stand on the scaffold in the middle of the market place, with
an A on her chest. Dimmesdale has not told a single person
that he is the adulterer. He sits in the balcony with the
Governor, a judge, a general, and the rest of the ministers,
watching the display, without any expression or emotion.

Hester and Pearl go to the Governor’s home to deliver a
pair of gloves, but more importantly to inquire about the
possibility of the government taking away her child. Also
there with Governor Bellingham are Pastor Wilson,
Reverend Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth. After Mr.
Wilson asks Pearl a few questions, the Governor decides
that Hester is unfit as a mother and that the child would be
better off in the hands of the church. Hester begs
Dimmesdale, whom she says knows everything about her
and has charge of her soul, to speak for her. Therefore, he
does, convincing the Governor to let Hester keep Pearl. This
is Dimmesdale’s first step to becoming the moral blossom.

Late at night, a few years after the previous incident,
Dimmesdale takes a walk through the town. He climbs onto
the scaffold and pretends to confess; though there is no one
out at this time at night. Hester and Pearl, on their way
home, pass Dimmesdale on the scaffold. Dimmesdale calls
out to them and they join him, standing hand in hand in the
darkness. Dimmesdale has begun the road to confession by
acknowledging Hester and Pearl and by acting out
confession.

Now he feels guiltier than ever. He tortures himself, partly
because of Chillingworth’s actions, by whipping himself and
self-inflicting the letter A on his chest. As a result,
Dimmesdale preaches the best sermons of his life and
becomes more involved with the church and its people. His
morality has strengthened even more because he has a large
amount of guilt that can be heard in his voice as pathos and
the people connect with it, and he wants salvation.

Near the end of the book, Dimmesdale and Hester finally
meet in the woods to talk. They decide to flee the town by a
ship that is leaving in a few days. After making this choice,
Dimmesdale is haunted by bad feelings and strange urges
that make him realize that it is Satan urging him to deny his
sin by running away. Therefore, Dimmesdale changes his
mind and chooses to stay.

After his change of heart, Dimmesdale re-writes the Election
Day sermon that he is to preach. He successfully gives the
sermon and afterwards climbs up onto the scaffold. He then
asks Hester and Pearl to join him. Pearl is excited because
she has waiting for this moment for a long time. Hester is
hesitant, but does join him. Standing hand in hand once
again, Dimmesdale confesses to the town that he is the
adulterer, he shows the A on his chest, and he forgives
Chillingworth for torturing him.

Dimmesdale is a lot like many people today. We are afraid
to admit to wrong doings and we allow the guilt to torment
us until we cannot bear it any longer. Dimmesdale is the
perfect example of how evil we can become when we let
our guilt overcome us, but he is the moral blossom of the
novel because he realizes what he is doing, he is ashamed of
it, and he confesses and forgives to rid himself of his
tormenters.