In the journal of personality assessment, “Chronic and predisposition guilt: Relations to mental health, Prosocial Behavior, and Religiosity. The article argues that guilt does in fact play a role in damaging one’s mental health.

The article uses the term religiosity constantly. Religiosity simply means having a strong feeling or belief towards religion, but psychologically this term is used in the sense of an individual that commits to a religion and their qualities and experiences this religion has and the role it plays in society.

The article associates guilt with religiosity and how some people feel chronic and predespositional guilt due to immediate and/or precipitating event. How this can cause personality proclivity.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, “The Scarlet Letter,” we see a lot of guilt, shame and embarrassment being portrayed.

- Reverend Dimmesdale feels all these emotions because he is secretly the father of young Pearl. Later on in the chapters, readers discover that Dimmesdale does unpleasant things towards himself as a form, of punishment for his “secret sin”.

- these all connect the dots leading to damaging mental health and can lead to damaging oneself physically in the future.

* talk about how the picture on the house in the middle of nowhere resembles the cottage and can be interpreted as isolation or hiding; being alone.

In conclusion, eventually guilt will bring trials and tribulations toward one’s mental health. Now this doesnt necessarily mean right away, but it will. In “The Scarlet Letter”, Dimmesdale hides this tremendous secret from everyone in the town.

“ he has proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions. By giving me this burning torture to bear pod my breast! By sending yonder dark and terrible old man, to keep the torture always at red-heat! By bringing me hither, to die this death of triumphant ignominy before the people!” (Hawthorne).

I chose this quote because this is Dimmesdale feeling major guilt about committing adultery and the result of it. Someone suffering alone (Hester) in this shame. In the beginning Dimmesdale wanted to remain a secret for the sake of his title, but we see later on in the chapters he wants to come clean and be the father Pearl needs and provider for Hester as well.