In the 17th century, political and religious persecution in England led to the pilgrimage of Puritans to America. Their settlements reflected on forms of theocracy to completely unify church and state. All laws resulted solely from the Bible and were highly punishable if convicted. Nathaniel Hawthorne's portrayal of authoritarian society in The Scarlet Letter shows his fascination and disgust with the Puritan belief system. The character, Arthur Dimmesdale, exemplifies the outward desecration of man by …showed first 75 words of 425 total…

…showed last 75 words of 425 total…While Dimmesdale was an ensign of the Puritan faith, he also possessed traits of their criminals, like Hester Prynne. There's certain irony in the idea of an unholy minister, which is what Hawthorne tried to describe using the character of Arthur Dimmesdale. Even within the church there are certain weaknesses. Inside all people is a certain degree of guilt and sin. Dimmesdale proved the morality issue that sin does not desecrate a person, guilt does.