The Scarlet Letter: The False Qualities of Life Irish novelist Brian Moore observed, "There comes a point in many people's lives when they can no longer play the role they have chosen for themselves" (Bookshelf 95). From Hollywood movie stars to professional athletes, people have and will continue to lead false lives, under the public spotlight, concealing their personal travails. In literature, the preceding statement has held true numerous times, in works such as Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Minister and respected citizen, Arthur Dimmesdale, was perceived as an