What is the result when the Reverend Dimmesdale tells his congregation that he is the worst of sinners?

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When the Reverend Dimmesdale tells his congregation that he is the worst of sinners, they don’t attack him with anger, but instead view with even more veneration. The congregation respects that he is modest enough to see some shadow in his “white soul,” but can’t believe that he has sinned more than they have. The Reverend Dimmesdale ends up sinning again in that “he had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood” (96).

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More Questions

1. What is the result when the Reverend Dimmesdale tells his congregation that he is the worst of sinners?
2. What measures does Dimmesdale take in an attempt to penance for his sins?
3. Where have Hester and Pearl been before they arrive at the scaffold on their way home?
4. What does the minister reply when Pearl asks him if he will stand on the scaffold with them in broad daylight?
5. How do the other townspeople who see the red A in the sky interpret it?

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