Unlike the rest of the citizens, Pearl is able to make this connection and questions the minister's intentions. As the town's reverend, Dimmesdale is seen by Puritan society as a holy and righteous man, yet readers are able to see beyond the priest's façade to his true, miserable self. Hawthorne creates the noteworthy character of Arthur Dimmesdale through the characteristics of being dishonest, cowardly, and secretive. Arthur Dimmesdale proves himself to be an example of dishonesty. Because he refuses to reveal his problems to his doctor, Roger Chillingworth, he is not properly restored to full health. Chillingworth senses the shepherd's deep suffering and suggests that the priest reveal the true nature of his declining health. Choosing a black plant to use as a medicine, he suggests to Dimmesdale: "I found them growing on a grave... of the dead man... They grew from his heart, and represent, perhaps, some horrible secret which was buried with him, and which he would have done better to confess in his lifetime" (Hawthorne 123). The doctor expresses this in a way that strongly implies his knowledge of the