Dimmesdale

I am really on the fence about how I feel about Dimmesdale right now. Up until this point I was very fond of him. He has obviously been concealing a great burden. I believed that he was doing this to protect his congregation. Now, I'm not so sure. Is Dimmesdale really just a coward? He appears to care for Hester and Pearl very much. However, if I were he I would have made a much better effort in trying to connect with my lover and daughter.
Dimmesdale said that he was afraid of anyone noticing the resemblence between himself and Pearl. I'm not sure if he was really ashamed of the part of himself that he saw in her or if he just wanted to protect himself, his daughter, and the church congregation. He certainly remembers Pearl's tenderness at the house of the governor.
Pearl senses that Dimmesdale has not fully accepted her. She knows that he will not hold her hand in public which is something that she has wanted more than anything. When he kisses her she washes it off in the stream and does not accept him. She knows that her father is a hypocrite. Hypocrite seems like a very strong word. If you think about it everyone is a hypocrite in some way whether you care to admit it or not. Dimmesdale does not have much courage and he has concealed his secret for so long that it is almost impossible for him to admit it. He believes that his only means of escape is to run away with Hester and Pearl where he can never be found.
It was hard for me to make this blog entry because I think that I criticized Dimmesdale pretty harshly. For some reason I have some great connection with him. Maybe it is just compassion. I'm really not sure. He is definately my favorite character in the book.