Chapter Notes: The Scarlet LetterThe jail is described as gloomy and run down and of oldish age, but there is one rose outside the jail that has lasted throughout history. This one rose connotes that there is some hope for all. This idea also leaves hope that the Puritans are not entirely bad, but that there are a few people who may show some understanding and forgiveness. The punishment of a person can only be deemed successful if the moral integrity of the punished is destroyed. Puritans look for the bad in a person; they do not look for the good, they exaggerate the BAD. The first things the Puritans build where they settle are a cemetery and a prison. The prison is a way to keep everyone in line. They are afraid of being imprisoned and publicly humiliate. Iron as a symbol of organized religion? Sarcasm in the description of women -- "...chain of ancestry, every successive mother has transmitted to her child a fainter bloom a more delicate and briefer beauty, and a slighter physical frame.." (p.45) While this SUGGESTS that women reading the story (Jacksonian era) were more feminine compared to the Puritan women, who still resembled their homelands -- "They were her countrywomen; and the beef and ale of their native land, with a moral diet not a whit more refined...", Hawthorne is indicating an ironic connection between the Puritan gossips and those of his day: "What think ye, gossips." When a women does speak kindly and softly about Hester, it is a young wife with a child: -- "'Ah, but,' interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, 'let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.'" The gossips think they are pure and righteous but they are mean. Reminiscent of The Lottery when "gossips" all stand around talking of something the reader is unaware of. A mother is the center of the story. Older, less virtuous women are the meanest about Hester = Hypocrisy.
The women in the crowd seem to use Hester as an opportunity to enforce their own piety by condemning her. They use Hester's sin as an opportunity to overshadow their own mistakes. -- "It would be greatly for the public behoof, if we women, being of mature age and church-members in good repute, should have the handling of such malefactresses as this Hester Prynne. What think ye, gossips?"
The Puritans of this colony seem to live by the belief that sin should be sought out and exposed so that it can be punished publicly. But like in the previous passage (above), the townspeople seem to do this for their own personal desire to feel better about themselves. -- "When the young woman -- the mother of this child -- stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom; not so much by an impulse of motherly affection, as that she might thereby conceal a certain token, which was wrought or fastened into her dress." (p. 47) Ironic that Hester makes the scarlet letter -- her symbol of shame -- soÊbeautiful. She makes it better than anyone else in the town could have made it -- beautiful and bright, covered with gold, and it shines. Also strange that sunlight is usually a kind thing, but here it shows everyone's faults. It is an eye the people cannot escape from. Hester is not trying to "laugh in the faces" of the townspeople, or that she is necessarily proud of her sin. Rather, I think that she just recognizes the sin and the letter as just a reality -- she isn't trying to ignore its presence, nor is she trying to be forgiven for it. -- "but did ever a woman, before this brazen hussy, contrive such a way of showing it! Why, gossips, what is it but to laugh in the faces of our godly magistrates, and make a pride out of what they, worthy gentlemen, meant for a punishment?" (p. 48) "In our nature, however, there is a provision, alike marvelous and merciful, that the sufferer should never know the intensity of what he endures by its present torture, but chiefly by the pang that rankles after it"(p.49) While Hester is composed and strong in appearance now, she might not be able to stay that way. Hawthorne writes in a detached way to show how someone besides a Puritan might view the scene. Reminiscent of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher, narrator is just a friend looking into the crazy world of Usher. "...like a tuft of green moss on a crumbling wall"(p.52) Moss is Hester. She is young and lively, but growing on something old and decaying. Her foundation is weak, but she is strong. She did not marry Chillingworth for love -- perhaps for money, perhaps for escape of current life. The last paragraph of the chapter indicates: "She clutched the child so fiercely to her breast, that it sent forth a cry..." -- Pearl shows the emotions of Hestor and acts upon them because Hestor hides her emotions. Pearl's reactions often reflect what Hestor is feeling. This is the first clue that this man has some deeper relation to Hester -- at first I thought that he must be the father of the child, and that's why he wanted Hester to remain quiet, but then during his conversation inquiring about the nature of Hester's sin, it becomes clearer that he must be her lost husband. -- "he found the eyes of Hester Prynne fastened on his own, and saw that she appeared to recognize him, he slowly and calmly raised his finger, made a gesture with it in the air, and laid it on his lips." (p. 55) "A writhing horror twisted itself across his features" (p. 55) A snake symbolizes the devil, this means that Hester's husband has evil intentions about him. "She hath raised a great scandal, I promise you, in godly Master Dimmesdale's church" (p.55) Double meaning, since Dimmesdale is the father. This story is filled with bits of irony -- Chillingsworth says, "The learned man...should come himself to look into the mystery." (p. 56) Chillingsworth is referring to himself saying that the husband of Hester should come to find the truth of who her partner was. This is precisely what Chillingsworth does do, yet he seeks to keep his true identity from the community. If he were to let the people know who he really was it would make it more difficult to find out the identity of the other sinner. While this idea of exposing a sin in order to give an example of warning to others is what the Puritans say they're doing, they use Hester as more of a scapegoat and as a comfort to make their errors seem less terrible. I'm not sure that the townspeople really see Hester as an example of their own potential sins. -- "Thus she will be a living sermon against sin, until the ignominious letter be engraved upon her tombstone." (p. 57) Another aspect of irony is when Mr. Wilson asks Dimmesdale to try to persuade Hestor into revealing the name of the father. Mr. Wilson says, "Knowing your natural temper better than I, he could the better judge what arguments to use...in so much that you should no longer hide the name of him who tempted you to this grievous fall." (p. 59) Mr. Wilson is speaking from the idea that Dimmesdale is her minister and therefore he should know her better, but since Dimmesdale is her "tempter" he would know her better because of that reason. Throughout the next pages, Dimmesdale is almost begging Hester to give up his name because it would be a lot easier for her to give him up, than it would be for Dimmesdale to come forward on his own account. Again, an example of the Puritan belief that sin must be openly exposed in order to be absolved -- but by doing this, Hester becomes more like an inhuman symbol that the townspeople feel they can openly mock and be cruel to. -- "Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee, and the sorrow without." (p. 60) "He described him as a man of skill in all Christian modes of physical science." (p. 63 ) This was interesting that in the same way that religion and law are intertwined: "a people amongst whom religion and law were almost identical" (p. 45), religion and science were also connected in this society. Religion seems to be infused in every aspect of their lives. Chillingsworth seeks to help Hester and he tells her that his medicine will soothe her, but that it will not be as soothing as a "sinless conscience."(p. 65) This connotes the idea that a person's own conscience and beliefs cause more pain and suffering than any punishment that can be inflicted by others. All of the herbs with which to heal people come from the forest -- a symbol of evil and unknown for the Puritans. The witches' Sabbath happens in the forest. "His name was announced as Roger Chillingworth."(p. 64) It's interesting that he chooses the name "Chillingworth." This name almost seems to set him up as the antagonist of the story --cold and without much warmth or feeling. This suspicion that Chillingworth is the antagonist seems be further enforced when, "As he spoke, he laid his long forefinger on the scarlet letter, which forthwith seemed to scorch into Hester's breast, as if it had been red-hot. He noticed her involuntary gesture, and smiled.: (p. 66) Chillingsworth's name resembles his features very closely; there seems to be a new evilness and coldness to his features, which Hestor is not accustomed to. He is set upon the idea of finding out the identity of the man "who has wronged us both." (p. 67) Chillingworth forces Hester to agree to keep his secret. He is an evil man and this is like making a deal with the devil. Because he, an evil man, asks her to, it is a bad thing and it will destroy. An example of how Hester is made to be a living example for all others in the colony. Because of one sin, Hester's past and other history is erased and covered by the scarlet letter. -- "she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of women's frailty and sinful passion. Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast, -- at her, the child of honorable parents, -- at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be a woman ,-- at her, who had once been innocent, -- as the figure, the body, the reality of sin." (p. 71) It's a little strange that Hester doesn't choose to leave the colony. Maybe Hester chooses not to leave because it would be like acknowledging the colony's power over her. By staying, Hester is almost being the stronger of the two groups by choosing to stay instead of fleeing from the people who judge her. -- "Hester Prynne, therefore, did not flee. On the outskirts of the town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage. It had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned, because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigrants." (p. 72) Hestor and Pearl, as a sign of their separation from the community, live near the forest, away from everyone else. The forest is significant because it signifies the unknown, evil, pagan nature, and the devil, which the Puritans associate with her sin of adultery. The forest and nature will signify passion and human emotion in this story. The town is on the edge of the forest, and medicinal herbs come from the forest -- paradox in the communit's fear of, yet intrinsic need for, the forest. Hester chooses to stay near the community, believing that if she faces daily incessant punishment, then maybe her soul will be forgiven. Hester lives at the edge of the woods and Pearl plays with items from the forest -- Pearl is the product of a sinful situation. Human feelings take place in the woods/nature where people are free of society's strictures. Hestor is occupied with her needlework, which becomes her only link with society. It seems a little hypocritical that the high-appointed church officials and other noteworthy people wear Hester's embroidery though they still think of it as sinful as they won't allow a bride to wear it. -- "Her needle-work was seen on the ruff of the Governor; military men wore it on their scarfs, and the minister on his band...But it is not recorded that, in a single instance, her skill was called in aid to embroider the white veil which was to cover the pure blushes of a bride. The exception indicated the ever relentless vigor with which society frowned upon her sin." (p. 74) Because she had committed adultery, her work was not seen as worthy of embroidering the clothing of the brides, because they were considered pure, which Hestor was not. Although Hester helps these people, they still treat her like a sort of sub-human symbol that doesn't have feelings. -- "Hester bestowed all her superfluous means in charity, on wretches less miserable than herself, and who not unfrequently insulted the hand that fed them." (p. 75) Hestor, at times, feels relief because when she sees Dimmesdale she feels as though the burden of the sin is shared and no longer just rests on her shoulders. But with that feeling of relief she also feels as though she has sinned again, because she is recommitting the sin of adultery by thinking about Dimmesdale. Conscience affects everyday life -- secrecy destroys characters. Everyone has something to hide, especially during Puritan times, so when Hester sins, "it [gives] her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts" (p. 77) Like in The Minister's Black Veil, the scarlet letter Hester wears lets her see others' sins. She knows others sin, but most don't get caught and forced to wear a symbol of shame like she has to. It's interesting that she's named Pearl because a pearl in itself is like a mistake -- a stray piece of sand that's been caught and then wrapped in scar tissue, but this mistake turns out to be something beautiful and treasured. Pearl acts as both a symbol of her mother's sin, but also as her greatest treasure. -- "But she named the infant 'Pearl', as being of great price, -- purchased with all she had, -- her mother's only treasure!" (p. 80) Pearl is the sin, yet she is still only a child; she is what links the Hestor to the society, and yet she is also what has separated her from society. Pearl is a constant reminder of Hester's adultery, but at the same time is her only friend. When Hester is unable to express her feelings, Pearl gladly does. Pearl reacts to situations in the way that Hester wishes she could. Pearl closely relates to Hester; she has knowingness about her. It's interesting that Pearl is so facinated by the scarlet letter -- they are both symbols that society associates to the same sin. Pearl is like the living form of the scarlet letter. -- "putting up her little hand, she grasped at it, smiling, not doubtfully, but with a decided gleam that gave her face the look of a much older child. Then, gasping for breath, did Hester Prynne clutch the fatal token, instinctively endeavouring to tear it away; so infinite was the torture inflicted by the intelligent touch of Pearl's baby-hand." (pp. 86-87) Pearl acts very grown-up and often does not act her age: "Her nature appeared to possess depth, too, as well as variety; but -- or else Hester's fears deceived her -- it lacked reference and adaption to the world into which she was born. The child could not be made to amenable rules." Pearl has a mind of her own and can not be forced to obey rules, therefore, Hestor "permitted the child to be swayed by her own impulses." Pearl's actions are in direct correlation to how Hester feels; born an outcast, Pearl is all that Hester has as companionship. Pearl, like her mother, is cast out from society and both share the burden of the results of the sin: "Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants." (p. 84) Pearl represents Hester's unrestrained self. Pearl cries when Hester wants to. Pearl holds Dimmesdale's hand when Hester wants to. When children are cruel to Hester and Pearl, the girl is very mean to the children. Hester would like to be. Pearl is like the archetype of all children. She has facets of all personalities, kind, mischievous, evil, good -- she doesn't care about rules. Hester wonders if this is because a broken rule made Pearl. Some wonder if she is the devil's child since Hester refuses to say who the father really is. Pearl dresses in beautiful clothes, one time in red and gold and looks like the scarlet letter. Pearl really is the scarlet letter. She is Hester's symbol of shame, but also Hester's joy and love. ** Note how Pearl reacts to the other children (p. 84 on the bottom) and the great quote about the elders and the children of the Puritans, which compares them to nature's ugliest and foulest flora (p. 85 on the bottom.) Because of Pearl's weird behavior and appearance and because Hester refuses to say who the father is, the Puritans believe that Pearl is the devil's offspring. This outfit even further transforms Pearl into the living form of the scarlet letter; she is "the scarlet letter endowed with life" (p. 92) -- "Her mother, in contriving the child's garb, had allowed the gorgeious tendencies of her imagination their full play; arraying her in a crimson velvet tunic, of a peculiar cut, abundantly embroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread." (p. 91) Convex mirror shows the scarlet letter consuming Hester. The bad is exaggerated here. The poor dislike Hester because of her sin, even when she feeds and clothes them. Congregation might kill Dimmesdale if they knew he were the father even when they all have loved him dearly and he has done many great things. Though Pearl gives her mother's life meaning and joy, she still serves as a sort of punnishment. -- "Alone in the world, cast off by it, and with this sole treasure to keep her heart alive, she felt that she possessed indefeasible rights against the world, and was ready to defent them to the death.
Like Pearl and Roger Chillingworth, Minister Dimmesdale's name also matches his temperment -- he is nervous and not really that sure of himself. -- "At this wild and singular appeal, which indicated that Hester Prynne's situation had provoked her to little less than madness, the young minister at once came forward, pale, and holding his had over his heart, as was his custom whenever his peculiarly nervous temperament was thrown into agitation." (p. 102) This sort of awkward show of affection implied to me at this moment that Dimmesdale was Pearl's true father, then looking back in the story at how Hester frequently looked to Dimmesdale for help furthers this suspicion. -- "the minister looked round, laid his had on the child's head, hesitated an instant, and then kised her brow." (p. 104) "Had they taken Pearl from me, I would willingly have gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man's Book and that with mine own blood!"(p.105)
It is interesting that Chillingsworth is the quintessential American; he came from Europe, where he was an alchemist, and created a new life. "and likewise a new purpose; dark it is true, if not guilty, but of force enough to engage the full strength of his faculties" (p.107) Roger Chillingworth reiterates his evil intentions. He is an alchemist -- that is, he tries to find ways to turn materials into gold, etc. -- prior to his capture by the Indians. He had to be wealthy because he needed some way to sustain himself and he was probably not earning any by the gold he tried to create. This passage parallels how the Devil associates himself with people -- rather than standing or appearing beside people who sin, he hides in the shadows and makes them stand alone. "He resolved not to be pilloried beside her on her pedestal of shame. Unknown to all but Hester Prynne, and possessing the lock and key of her silence, he chose to withdraw his name from the roll of mankind, and, as regarded his former ties and interests, to vanish out of life as completely as if he indeed lay at the bottom of the ocean, whither rumor had long ago consigned him." (pp. 106-107) "early after his arrival had chosen for his spiritual guide the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale." (p.108) Chillingworth doesn't seem to be receptive to any "spiritual" guidance, unless it be from Satan or another evil source. Dimmesdale's health slowly begins to fail him, not because he is sick, but because of the secrets which he is keeping. Dimmesdale says, "I need no medicine" (p. 109)...this is entirely true: if he wants to get better, he must share his sins. Irony in these chapters about how townspeople think Mr. Dimmesdale is so holy and perfect, but he is actually a sinner. They think he is dying because he is too holy to live among them when in fact he is dying because he dwells on his sin. Dimmesdale and Chillingsworth compliment and contrast one another: "One was the guest of the other, in his place of study and retirement. There was fascination of the minister in the company of the man of science, in whom he recognized an intellectual cultivation of no moderate depth or scope." (p. 110) In any other adultery case these two men would be enemies, but now they see the good in each other. People who thought about science a lot could not be close-minded and most of the Puritans were; this is why they didn't have enough doctors. Mr. Dimmesdale enjoys Chillingworth's company so much because no ministers and most puritans were not as well read and willing to discuss possibilities that might not directly agree with the church's teachings. Chillingsworth and Dimmsedale complement each other in the freedom of their ideas, which no other Puritans have. There are not many doctors in Puritan society, because the Puritans are very closed-minded and lack the experimental tendencies necessary for a scientist. Chillingworth is exactly like a leech in that he has attached himself to the minister and is feeding on the memories, feelings, etc. of him [yet "leech" has a double meaning, as it refers to "doctor" -- who uses leeches to cure people] "So Roger Chillingworth - the man of skill, the kind and friendly physician -- strove to go deep into his patient's bosom, delving among his principles, prying into his recollections, and probing everything with a cautious touch, like a treasure-seeker in a dark cavern" (p. 111) Dimmesdale is sustained by his faith, but also trapped by it. "it would always be essential to his peace to feel the pressure of a faith about him, supporting, while it confined him within its iron frame-work." (p.111) Chillingsworth already knows the truth behind Dimmesdale's sickness: "Few secrets can escape an investigator, who has opportunity and license to undertake a quest, and skill to follow it up. A man burdened with a secret should especially avoid the intimacy of his physician." (p. 111) (p. 112) Chillingworth is beginning to "read" Dimmesdale by figuring out his true identity but he is still not sure. Imagery: "two cultivated minds" and "sphere of human thought" The minister refuses to marry, not necessarily because he cares about, but rather because it would be cruel to, Hester. He doesn't want another person to make him feel worse about his secret sin. "...he rejected all suggestions of the kind, as if priestly celibacy were one of his articles of church-discipline." (p. 113) Society thinks that Dimmesdale is a saint and everyone wants to be connected with him. But in reality, he suffers with his secret and believes he is connected with Satan. Everything depends on perspective, on how one looks at events and what one sees in others. For the townspeople, the minister is a symbol of hope, much like the rosebush. "And the Reverent Arthur Dimmesdale's best discerning friends, as we have intimated, very reasonably imagined that the hand of Providence had done all this" (p.114) Some of the Puritans believed that Chillingsworth was sent by God to take care of Dimmesdale and to make him better, while others believed that Chillingsworth was Satan or an emissary of Satan who was haunting the young minister. Many people think that Chillingworth is there to help Dimmesdale. This is ironic because he is there trying to do the opposite. Some people in the town suspect that he is a demon/devil that was sent to test Dimmesdale. They think he has to overcome this test: "The people looked, with an unshaken hope, to see the minister come forth out of the conflict transfigured with the glory..." (p.115) To the townspeople, Dimmesdale is like the rose outside of the prison. He is beautiful and gives them hope. The townspeople think that Dimmesdale is battling a demon, and they are confident that he will win. Some think that Chillingsworth is the demon, and others think that he was sent to protect Dimmesdale from the demon. Blessing v. Curse:
Dimmesdale's ailment is coming from within: he is torturing himself, feeling guilty and thereby causing physical maladies based just on what he is thinking
Chillingworth's actions are meant to mirror how the Devil affects people by not straight-forwardly making himself known, but rather by slipping unnoticed into a person's life. "Mr. Dimmesdale, whose sensibility of nerve often produced the effect of spiritual intuition, would become vaguely aware that something inimical to his peace had thrust itself into relation with him" (p.117) This idea that sin wants to be, or must be, exposed seems true, at least in Dimmesdale's case -- his secret sin is slowly tormenting him. "They grew out of his heart, and typify, it may be, some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had done better to confess during his lifetime." (p. 118) Chillingsworth sounds as though he knows that Dimmesdale is hiding his secret, while Dimmesdale is discussing his own true feelings on how he can't give himself up to the community. Dimmesdale says: "Perchance, he earnestly desired it, but could not." (p. 118) Dimmesdale suggests (rationalizes?) that by keeping his sin a secret he is helping the community because, if he were to come forward, nothing good would come from his revealing his secret. As the minister many people look up to him and see him as the symbol of purity, but if they were to know that he had sinned so severely it would ruin the town and no good would come from it. "guilty as they may be, retaining, nevertheless, a zeal for God's glory and man's welfare, they shrink from displaying themselves black and filthy in the view of men; because, thenceforward, no good can be achieved by them; no evil of the past be redeemed by better service." (p. 119) The burrs seem to personify the pain that the scarlet letter has dug into Hester: "she arranged them along the lines of the scarlet letter that decorated the maternal bosom, to which the burrs, as their nature was, tenaciously adhered. Hester did not pluck them off" (p. 120) Pearl picks "prickly burrs" and throws them at her mother then at Dimmesdale as if they are the sin that unites the lovers. Prickly burrs stick to things. Dimmesdale shies away as he does from his sin but Hester stands tall, unshaken wearing her badge of sin. Pearl is always the one to speak the most truthfully and honestly on matters as she isn't tied to the rules of the community and isn't directly involved in what's happening: "Come away mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already. Come away, mother, or he will catch you! But he cannot catch little Pearl!" (p. 121) It is better to expose sin so that it can heal, rather than hide it within where it will fester: "There was a look of pain in her face, which I would gladly have been spared the sight of. But still, methinks, it must needs be better for the sufferer to be free to show his pain, as the poor woman Hester is, than to cover it all up in his heart." (pp. 121-122) (p. 121) "The child probably overheard their voices; for, looking up to the window, with a bright, but naughty smile of mirth and intelligence..." Pearl knows of the conflict...And by asking all the right questions she can reveal all the secrets...Like the sun shines only on her. "large black letter volume" (p.124) refers to the bible in a gothic style print. Only other literal book in the story is the black book where the devil makes people sign over their souls to him. People are books in this story. They can be read. They seem one way on the surface, but they are actually another way. Hester seems a sinner on the surface. She wears the scarlet letter and she is made to stand on the scaffolding in front of all town as a "sinner" but on the inside Hester is the only true Christian in the town. She does not judge, she gives to the poor, and she is kind to people. Pearl is the symbol of Hester's and Dimmesdale's sin, but she is actually an innocent, young child. Dimmesdale is a perfect man on the outside. Everyone loves him and thinks he is wonderful. On the inside he is consumed with guilt over his "terrible" sin. Chillingworth seems like a kind old man on the outside but he is driven by evil motives. He tries to read into Dimmesdale's soul to find his secret, and then when he discovers the truth, he pours salt in the wound. He is the epitome of revenge. It is ironic that Dimmesdale's torture makes him ever more loved by the people.
Chillingworth is meant to show how the Devil toys with people who are living with secret sin -- his ability to torture Dimmesdale rests on the fact that Dimmesdale keeps his sin hidden away. "He became, thenceforth, not a spectator only, but a chief actor, in the poor minister's interior world. He could play upon him as he chose. Would he arouse him with a throb of agony? The victim was forever on the rack; it needed only to know the spring that controlled the engine; -- and the physician knew it well!" (p. 127) "Would he startle him with sudden fear?ÊAs at the waving of a magician's wand, uprose a grisly phantom, -- uprose a thousand phantoms, -- in many shapes, of death, or more awful shame, all flocking roundabout the clergyman, and pointing with their fingers at his breast!" (p. 127) Like a dance in the Witches' Sabbath. Dimmesdale seemed to connect with his congregation more than ever. His sin had given him the ability to see through others and see the other side of life: "But this very burden it was, that gave him sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind; so that his heart vibrated in unison with theirs, and received their pain into itself..." (p. 129) Dimmesdale's sermons get better over the years. People like him better for them and that tortures his conscience because he feels like every time he preaches he is lying. It is interesting that even when Dimmesdale tells the people that he is a sinner they only see the good things he does and even interpret this confession to be a sign of humility. They only see the good about him, but with everyone else, they only see the bad. Dimmesdale seems to by trying to to repent for his sin by exclaiming by how he is the worst sinner of all, "I, your pastor, whom you so reverence and trust, am utterly a pollution and a lie." (p. 130) but because his sin is still a secret, by doing this he only makes himself feel worse. "He told his hearers that he was altogether vile, a viler companion of the vilest, the worst of the sinners...They little guessed what deadly purport lurked in those self-condemning words. 'The godly youth!' said they among themselves. 'The saint on earth! Alas, if he discern such sinfulness in his own white soul, what horrid spectale would he behold in thine or mine!'" (p. 130) On page 131, Hawthorne finally confirms the reader's suspicions that Dimmesdale IS Pearl's father. (p. 135) Dimmesdale sees all the details, the Iron Knocker, the pump, the window pane, the rough log, footsteps, and the garden fence...he recognizes everything around him like Peyton Farquahar does in Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge. The light that the morning would offer seems to symbolize the truth that would be shed on the minister's secret -- darkness = secrets; light = truth. "Morning would break, and find him there. The neighbourhood would begin to rouse itself. The earliest riser, coming forth in the dim twilight, would perceive a vaguely defined figure aloft on the place of shame" (p. 137) Pearl remains as the ultimate voice of truth and direct questions as she asks the Minister to stand with her and her mother at noon -- a time where nothing can be hidden in the shadows. "Wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noon-tide?" (p. 138) Pearl is the product of a sin; however is the only pure thing in this society. Dimmesdale tries to fix his wrong by making it publicly known; however, the public views him as a man who can do no wrong and thus disregards his statements, which further deteriorates his state of health. When joined together on the pulpit, Hester and Pearl radiate energy to the minister, they are full of life -- he suffers. When Dimmesdale meets Hester and Pearl on the scaffold, they are full of live, while his life is draining (continual references to links and chains)
On the scaffold, when the Minister, Hester, and Pearl link hands, Hawthorne describes them as an electric chain. They are for the first time united and for the moment their unison seems like an unbreakable chain of life: "And there stood the minister, with his hand over his hear; and Hester Prynne, with the embroidered letter glimmering on her bosom; and little Pearl, herself as symbol, and the connecting link between those two."" (p. 139) The minister with his hand over his heart feels the pain of not telling the truth about himself and wishes to cast himself from the lie and just let the truth come out, while Hester has felt the pain of the sin, but by having to handle the consequences has learned to be a stronger individual. Dimmesdale is so preoccupied with his own suffering that, while the town views the "A" made by the comet, the Minister sees it as a sign of his sin. As Dimmesdale continues to get sicker, his sermons become more and more amazing: "he preached a discourse which was held to be the richest and most powerful, and the most replete with heavenly influences, that had ever proceeded from his lips." (p. 142) The "A" in the night seems like a forced explaination for this supernatural phenomenan -- it's like the Puritains are desperate for a positive explaination concerning things they can't control. "But did your reverence hear of the portent that was seen last night? A great red letter in the sky, -- the letter A, -- which we interpret to stand for Angel. For, as our good Governor Winthrop was made an angel this pastnight, it was doubtless he felt that there should be some notice thereof!" (p. 143) After the many years of Hester bearing the burden of the "A", members of the community begin to say that the letter no longer stands for her sin, but for "Able", because of all the good she has done for the community. It becomes a symbol of all her charity and not a symbol of scorn. "The scarlet letter had not done its office." (p. 150) The scarlet letter hasn't really led Hester to contemplate her sin, as was it was intended. Rather, Hester has become cold, and has lost much of her inner warmth. But becasue Hester is isolated, "her life had turned, in a great measure, from passion and feeling, to thought." (p. 148) It had not "done its office" in subduing her inner, independent nature. The separation forced on Hester by her sin against society freed her to think as an independent philosopher. While she became more compassionate toward other "sinners", she also began to think new thoughts -- more dangrous to the Puritans than was her original transgression -- M Hester represents the free-thinkers of the 1600's (& of the 1800's & of the 21st century -- M) while the Puritans are caught in an iron framework.
"She assumed a freedom of speculation, then common enough on the other side of the Atlantic, but which our forefathers, had they known of it, would have held to be a deadlier crime than that stigmatized by the scarlet letter." (p.149) Hester is out of the society so she is allowed to study them from outside. Her open mind would have been considered very bad. She represents the free-thinkers who tried to reform religion. She is a symbol of the world being turned upside down even in Hawthorne's time.She is on the way to women becoming equal. Hester had been forced to bear the symbol of her sin as a symbol of repentance yet it had done everything but that. It caused her to think freely for herself and it gave her different insight into the community and its beliefs. Story is relevant today -- is the "sin" of adultery considered a "sin" today?? -- Women having power turns the world upside down. Throughout recent times, American women have slowly gained certain rights (Voting rights -- 1850's/Jacksonian America/Hawthorn's own time). Today, finally, a women might become president in 2007. Pearl is spiritually free compared to Hester, the minister, and all the rest of the Puritans. "So the child flew away like a bird." (p. 152) She is at home in nature; connected to the forest and not constricted by the rules of Puritan society. She lives on the outside; literally and figuratively, separated from the "iron gridwork" of Puritan ideals, thriving in the green, fertile forest. Hester refuses to remove the letter because she doesn't believe that her identity should be defined by the community. Hester feels that only God can be the one to judge her. "'It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge,' calmly replied Hester. 'Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport.'" (p. 153) Roger Chillingworth even begins to realize that he is evil: "I have already told thee what I am? A fiend! Who made me so?" (p.156) He has been doing evil work: "If he will only, for a reasonable space of time, undertake a devil's office" -- If you fraternize with the devil for even a little while, do evil things, you become evil. The fact that he thinks he is evil almost makes it undeniably true, vs. being judged by society when those judgements might be incorrect. Hester and Chillingworth despise each other for their actions. Chillingworth says: "let the black flower blossom as it may! Now go thy ways, and deal as thou wilt with yonder man." (p. 158) He is saying let everything happen and unfold, and live the paths they have chosen. "Did the sun, which shone so brightly everywhere else, really fall upon him? Or was there, as it rather seemed, a circle of ominous shadow moving along with his deformity, whichever way he turned himself?" (p. 159) The shadow did not cast upon Chillingworth because secrets were hidden within him like Hester and Dimmesdale, but rather due to the extreme hatred that burns inside him. Hester thinks that she was only deluding herself into believing that Chillingworth was good when living with him. Maybe Chillingworth was a good person at one time, but as hate seeped into him, he transformed. "Such scenes had once appeared not otherwise than happy, but now, as viewed through the dismal medium of her subsequent life, they classed themselves among her ugliest remembrances. She marveled how such scenes could have been." (p. 160) Roger and Hester pity how the event of Hester's adultery has changed the ways in which they deal with situations. Slowly Hester comes to the realization "I hate [that] man...he betrayed me! He has done me worse wrong than I did him." (p. 160) Hester had agreed to keep her husband's secret, but she never thought it would kill or hurt Dimmesdale. Pearl is a product of nature, she has no problem being mean to fellow children, but when she has done harm to an innocent animal, she regrets doing such a mean act. Pearl is not a normal child: she observes what she sees around her, and connects the events. "Then the elf-child sighed, and gave up her sport; because it grieved her to have done harm to a little being that was wild as the sea-breeze, or as wild as Pearl herself." (p. 161)
Pearl makes the connection between her mother's letter and the minister's apparant illness. None of the other townspeople have been able, however, to make this connection. They fail to realize this for the same reason that they determined that the "A" in the sky stood for Angel -- they only see exactly what they want to see, and no one in the town wants to see their minister as an adulterer. "'Doust thou know, child, wherefore thy mother wears this letter?'
Pearl does not know what brought about the "A" on her mothers chest but she is attracted to it. She makes an "A" of her own out of the color Green: "The green letter, and on thy childish boson, has no purport." (p. 162) Pearl is the living and growing result of Hester's sin; as the color green represents growth and life, Pearl wears the green "A" on her chest symbolizing herself. "To Hester's mind, it imaged not amiss the moral wilderness in which she had so long been wandering." (p. 167) The forest signifies Hester's being free and no longer restricted by the harsh and "moral" laws of the Puritans. Pearl is not afraid nor is she discouraged by the supernatural or by the devil; she sees things as equal and all things as interesting: "How he haunts this forest, and carries a book with him,-- a big, heavy book, with iron clasps; and how this ugly Black Man offers his book and an iron pen...Didst thou ever meet the Black Man, mother?" (p. 163) The references to iron symbolize the names of sinners being carfved into stone and that their names can never be taken out of the book. "As she attempted to do so, the sunshine vanished." (p. 168) As light symbolizes truth, Hester is unable to stand in the light has she holds the secret that Chillingworth is her husband. Pearl, on the other hand, is always governed by truth and is clear in everything she means and says, and thus is able to stand in the forest's light. The forest is a symbol oppisite of the community -- the community is an exposed and vunerable setting, govorned by man-made rules, while the forest is a natural, safe setting. Becasue of this, it's fitting that Hester meets Dimmesdale here, rather than in the town. "Here they sat down on a luxuriant heap of moss; which, at some epoch of the preceding century, had been a gigantic pine, with its roots and trunk in the darksome shade, and its head aloft in the upper atmosphere." Hester and Pearl (her sin) are at the root of everything, in the dark at the bottom. Similar to where everyone puts them in society, but yet through the tree they are connected to the top, in the atmosphere, where Hester holds her head high and won't let anyone bring her down. Pearl notes and frankly states the truth that the Puritain community refuses to see -- Hester has exposed her sin, and is thus allowed to continue with her life, although with torment from the community, while the minister lives with a secret sin, which is almost worse becasue it eats away at him. This idea of secret sin made me think back to the theme of The Minister's Black Veil. "And, mother, he has his hand over his heart! It is because, when the minister wrote his name in the book, the Black Man set his mark in that place? But why does he not wear it outside his bosom, as thou dost, mother?" (p. 171) The Minister, who has kept his sin unknown to the world, has suffered much more than Hester: "She beheld the minister advancing along the path, entirely alone, and leaning on a staff which he had cut by the way-side. He looked haggard and feeble, and betrayed a nerveless despondency in his air...There was listlessness in his gait; as if he saw no reason for talking one step farther..." (p. 171) Dimmesdale has not been able to move on since his sin because he has not shared his sin with anyone and has kept it bottled up inside himself. The "Black Man" is the manifestation of evil, but the boundaries of good and evil are sometimes difficult to discern. Pearl wants to meet the black man; Hester is regarded as a sinner but is not evil, the woods, etc. Evil is based on perception. It is not black and white necessarily. Hester and Dimmesdale's meeting takes place in the Forest, which is like the root. It is a safe quiet, their own Eden, where they make plans for a new life Hawthorne's Romance comes into play here, not just in the fairy-tale setting & implication of a positive outcome for the lovers, but in the interplay of nature & spirits & supernatural characters all supporting the lovers (think The Tempest or A Midsummer Night's Dream) -- M The first time that Hester and Dimmesdale are truly meeting in intimate conditions -- it seems natural that they should do this in the seclusion of the forest. Again the forest serves as an area where societies' rules vanish. "So strangely did they meet, in the dim wood, that it was like the first encounter, in the world beyond the grave, of two spirits who had been intimately connected in their former life, but now stood coldly shuddering, in mutual dread" (p. 174) Again they sit "...on the mossy trunk of the fallen tree. Life had never brought them a gloomier hour."The tree root symbolizes the Root of life, their new existence that they hope to have together. Since Dimmesdale feels what a relief it is to have a secret known and out in the open, it is strange that he would want to expose the secret to the rest of the village. Dimmesdale, however, remains intent on not letting them know and not fleeing until he's made his Election Day speech -- this is a little confusing that Dimmesdale would want to tolerate living even just a little bit longer in a position where Chillingworth can use Dimmesdale's secret to torment him. "Thou little knowest what a relief it is, after the torment of a seven years' cheat, to look into an eye that recognizes me for what I am!" (p. 176)
Roger Chillingworth is the most evil man in this society, because he is hurting a fellow human being.. "That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart." (p. 178) Chillingsworth is much more evil than either Hester of Dimmesdale because theirs was an act of love, even though it was not lawful or necessarily morally correct. They were not malicious, trying to hurt anyone else. Chillingsworth is deliberately trying to destroy other people, so he can be classified as much more evil than either of them. Even after seven years without speaking, Hester and Dimmesdale still have love for each other. "Think for me, Hester! Thou art strong. Resolve for me!" (p. 179) Hester is strong because for the last seven years she has had to deal with the sin, while Dimmesdale is weak because he has been keeping it a secret and it has eaten away at him. Hester, by having to bare the burden of the scarlet letter and everyday facing dislike by some members of the Puritan community, has become a very strong and knowledgeable woman. The letter had been meant to tear her down, so that she would repent her sin, but it succeeded in strengthening her and giving her different insight into the Puritan society and beliefs. Although this seems like the perfect plan to sever Dimmesdale and Hester from their sin, they're still not really freeing themselves from it -- they're more just running away: the secret will still dwell within Dimmesdale, and eat away at him. "Leave this wreck and ruin here where it hath happened! Meddle no more with it! Begin all anew!" (p. 181) "She had roamed as freely as the wild Indian in his woods. For years past she had looked from this estranged point of view at human institution, and whatever priests or legislators had established; criticizing all with hardly more reverence than the Indian would feel for clerical band, the judicial robe, the pillory, the gallows, the fireside or the church." (p. 183) The animals approaching Pearl; blurs the boundary between the supernatural and the natural. Gives the story ambiguity; we can't know about the wolf, and Hawthorne never says outright. This happens throughout. Sort of like Young Goodman Brown, it is not always possible to tell. Since her sin, Hester has become an outsider to the Puritan way of life and therefore she is like the Indians and does not care for the absurd Puritan ways unlike the people who are part of the community. Hester resembles an Indian; she is also separate from the bindings of the Puritan society. "There is still the ruined wall, and, near it, the stealthy tread of the foe that would win over again his unforgotten triumph." (p. 185) Once a wall has been breeched it can never be fully repaired and there will always be cracks left behind to remind us of the breeching. Once a soul has sinned, it is ruined forever. Dimmesdale, even if he were to come forth with his sin and attempt to start a new life, will never be able to undo the pain of the keeping his secret for so long. Dimmesdale and Hester decide to try to escape their sin by moving; Dimmesdale finds much relief in this idea. "This is already the better life! Why did we not find it sooner?" (p. 185) Pearl is continually asking whether or not Dimmesdale will go back with them, hand in hand -- it is her test to see how loyal he is. Once they decide to leave the town, Dimmesdale cannot be punished: he is leaving and no longer has to support the community as a minister. When Hester rips off her Scarlet Letter, nature seems to be giving its blessing. The sun shines brightly upon Hester, yellow leaves seem to turn gold. It is "the sympathy of Nature" because, unlike humans, it has never been subdued by human laws and emotions. "All at once, as with a sudden smile of heaven, forth burst the sunshine, pouring a very flood into the obscure forest, gladdening each green leaf, transmuting the yellow fallen ones to gold, and gleaming adown the gray trunks of the solemn trees." (p. 186) Since the sun begins to shine at the moment that they decide to flee, it would seem like Hester and Dimmesdale are making the right choice -- they have the blessing of the natural world, a world, "never subjugated by human law" (p. 186). However, this natural world is also not, "illumined by higher truth" (p. 186). So although their plan may seem alright in the forest, it may just end up burying themselves deeper under their sin. Dimmesdale first feels joy again, after having tortured himself for so long. The thought of leaving all this behind is very comforting, but it is also true that once a soul is so damaged it cannot be completely repaired. There will still be cracks; reminders of his 7 years' suffering. When Hester takes off her Scarlet Letter and lets her hair fall free, Pearl does not recognize her mother and there will not cross the brook: "I have a strange fancy, that this brook is the boundary between two worlds, and that thou canst never meet thy Pearl again." (p. 191) Because of her mother's sudden change of appearance, Pearl does not know where she belongs. "...Pearl stretched out her hand, with the small forefinger extended, and pointing evidently towards her mother's breast. And beneath, in the mirror of the brook, there was the flower-girdled and sunny image of little Pearl, pointing her small forefinger too." Before Pearl pointed to where the "A" used to be on her mothe's chest, Dimmesdale put his hand on his heart and Pearl made the connection to between the two. Pearl's reaction suggests that what Hester and Dimmesdale are planning on doing is not really the right decision. Pearl has been able to live uncorrupted by society and her evaluations of situations are always correct. Although the wild, natural sphere of thinking supports Hester and Dimmesdale's plan, their plan is not based on revealing the truth, and as Pearl represents all things true and uncontaminated, she cannot support them. It seems like during their conversations, Hester and Dimmesdale think of Pearl as the element that would make their relationship and plan more legitimate because she naturally connects them by being their child. "But Pearl, not a whit startled at her mother's threats, any more than mollified by her entreaties, now suddenly burst into a fit of passion, gesticulating violently, an throwing her spall figure into the most extravagant contortions." (p. 192) Part of the reason that Pearl reacts badly when when her mother casts aside the scarlet letter and then demands that she re-fasten it, is because Pearl is like a living symbol of that letter. Pearl also objects to Hester and Dimmesdale's escape because it is like they are finally acknowledging that society has defeated them, and that they have given up. "With these words, [Hester]...advanced to the margin of the brook, took up the scarlet letter, and fastened it again into her bosom" (p. 193) When Hester takes off the scarlet letter, she is leaving the sphere that she and Pearl have shared for seven years. Pearl is left behind in a place she does not understand, without her mother and the letter, of which she is the manifestation. Pearl often challenges events taking place, especially now that Dimmedale and Hester are communicating once again: "'Will he go back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into the town?' 'Not now, dear child,' answered Hester. 'But in days to come he will walk hand in hand with us.'" (p. 194) Pearl is correct in objecting to Hester and Dimmesdale's plan. Until he publicly acknowledges his relationship to both Hester and Pearl, he will still be living a lie. This chapter is interesting because Hester and Dimmesdale are planning to run away from a society where they cannot show their true selves -- just as the Puritans ran away from England so that they would not have to hide their religious beliefs. But throughout this novel, it's implied the the Puritans of this society are backwards in their thinking -- revealing that Hester and Dimmesdale's plan of running away is not the best plan of action. The melancholy brook almost seems to represent the fact that deep down, they know that their plan will not succeed. The forest is sort of a place of hope, of being free, but the brook babbles sadly the whole time. Their meeting has an undertone of hopelessness. Hester must re-attach the letter, or leave Pearl behind, neither of which she wants to do. It is like they are all in an inescapable trap. Dimmesdale went into the forest as one man and came out a new one with a new sense of freedom: "It was only by the most careful self-control that [he] could refrain from uttering certain blasphemous suggestions that rose into his mind, respecting the communion supper." (p. 199-200) He is unable to remember scriptures when asked for words of knowledge and seems to be a completely new person. Dimmesdale seems tainted by his time in the forest. It is almost as if he has been freed from the constraints that have bound him for so long that he is having the urges to do sinful things, but it is also like he is now connected to the devil in some imperceptible way. "Mr. Dimmesdale, as the great enemy of souls would have it, could recall no text of Scripture" (p. 200)
The minister was "tempted by a dream of happiness; he yielded himself with deliberate choice, as he had never done before...the infectious poison of that sin had been thus rapidly diffused throughout his moral system."
Hester is once again on display, like in the first chapter. She is in her own little sphere and no one will approach her. This helps her talk to the sailors, but still she cannot escape Chillingsworth who grins evilly at her from across the square. Because Pearl thinks through a higher, ultimate truth, it's naturally true that she doesn't understand the backward rules and customs of the colony, and can't understand why Dimmesdale continues to hide his secret only while in the broad daylight of the town. "'But here in the sunny day, and among all the people, he knows us not; nor must we know him! A strange, sad man is he, with his hand always over his heart!' 'Be quiet, Pearl! Thou understandest not these things.'" (p. 210) Sailors arrive at the Puritan society, and there is nothing "uritan about them:
"They transgressed, without fear or scruple, the rules of behavior that were binding on all others; smoking tobacco under the beadle's very nose, although each whiff would have cost a townsman a shilling; and quaffing, atÊtheir pleasure, draughts of wine or aqua-vitae from pocket-flasks." (p. 213) In Puritan society all these sailors would be looked down upon in society. But if Hester was in the sailors' society she would be accepted. It all has to do with perspective.
Hester is always in the dark; the sun chooses not to shine on her. "While she groped darkly, and stretched forth her cold hands, and found him not." (p. 219) Hester begins to realize that she does not "know" who Dimmesdale is when he is in public. Mistress Hibbins, a witch, is able to see the true relationship between Hester and Dimmesdale, however she is accepting of it because she too is an outcast. "'Mother.' said [Pearl], 'was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?' ...I could not be sure that it was he; so strange he looked." Dimmesdale has changed so much he is unrecognizable. Different rules apply when in the village. There is a difference between inner, secret life and public life -- while in the forest, a person can fantisize whatever he wishes to, but in the public sphere, inner ideas or plans must remain hidden from public scrutiny. "'Mother,' said she, 'was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?' 'Hold thy peace, dear little Pearl!' whispered her mother. 'We must not always talk in the market-place of what happens to us in the forest.'" (p. 220) While in the forest, Hester and Dimmesdale were happy, together. In the public forum they are not. Hester is shunned and Dimmesdale is idolized. Once they reenter society they are once again in completely different worlds. Hester seems to already be in her own little sphere during the celebration, but when Mistress Hibbins stands near her the sphere seems to expand, because people are now trying to avoid Hester and Hibbins. This allows the two women the ability to speak secretively without anyone over hearing their conversation. Mistress Hibbins asks Hester if she too has noticed that the Minister is no longer the same man. She interprets that the Minister keeps his hand over his heart as a way of hiding the devil's mark. Mistriss Hibbens can tell that Dimmesdale has sinned (makes the distinction between dark and light) and assumes that Hester may know. Hester has the reputation of being sympathetic to sinners. Hawthorn presents the idea that when speaking heart to heart, words get in the way; "if more distinctly heard, might have been only a grosser medium, and have clogged the spiritual sense." (p. 222) Dimmesdale is such a great speaker, because his sermons connote ideas in the listeners. While Dimmedale is speaking, Hester cannot hear the words but she still gets the meaning. It is like poetry that she can hear the tone of his voice and understand what he is saying; the words are not as important as the emotion, etc. It is what is beneath the words that matters, not the literal, surface meanings. Pearl is very headstrong, especially when she says "if it pleases me I will." (p. 224) Pearl expresses emotions that everyone else wishes they could convey. It is very interesting how the Indians view Hester to be a person of honor and power, while the Puritans view her as a sin. Becasue the Indians live outside the colony and don't know the history behind the scarlet letter, they assume that Hester must be a person of great importance -- she is singled out among the crowd and does have a certain "aura" about her; their preception of the scarlet letter shows the higly arbitrary nature of the sign. "Even the Indians were affected by a sort of cold shadow of the white man's curiosity, and, gliding through the crowd, fastened their snake-like black wyes on Hester's bosom; conceiving, perhaps, that the wearer of this brilliantly embroidered badge mus needs be a personage of high dignity among her people." (p. 225) This idea that it is a revered image is completely opposite of the true meaning of it, yet it is ironic that some see it as a great thing. And it almost seems to be, because Hester has become stronger and has given her a new view into life and she has done charitable things in the community. The compassionate woman is dead, because Hester no longer needs compassion; she is self-assured enough. It seems natural that the three should meet for the final time at the place where they had all first been gathered -- this circle, starting at the scaffold and then ending back again there, reinforces the motif of spheres occuring throughout the story. At this point though, it is Dimmesdale who stands on the scaffold; while Hester was the first to be judged here, it is now Dimmesdale's turn. "And now, almost imperceptible as were the latter steps of his progress, he had come opposite the well-remembered and weather-darkened scaffold, where, long since, with all that dreary lapse of time between, Hester Prynne had encountered the world's ignominious stare. There stood Hester, holding little Pearl by the hand! And there was the scarlet letter on her breast!" (p. 230) When Dimmesdale first stops by Hester, everyone assumes that it is some sort of statement. He is comparing his saintly self with Hester, who is a sinner. In Chapter One, Hester is viewed from the outside, from Chillingsworth's perspective. Now the perspective has shifted to come from Hester and Dimmesdale on the Scaffold, for the final judgement. The minister has been punished the most by the sin, because he kept it a secret. Even when he tells the community that he has wronged the crowd continues to look upon him "with awe and wonder." (p. 230) A veil of secrecy hasÊbeen lifted off the minister once he tells his sin; "The sun, but little past its meridian, shone down upon the clergyman, and gave a distinctness to his figure, as he stood out from all the earth to put his plea of guilty at the bar of Eternal Justice." (pp. 232-233) Dimmesdale's confession takes place slightly after noon; it is a sign that he is dying, the truth has maybe come too late. Also, there is still a small amount of ambiguity in what he says. People still argue that he was not an adulterer even after he dies. "At this instant old Roger Chillingworth thrust himself through the crowd, -- or, perhaps, so dark, disturbed, and evil was his look, he rose up out of some nether region, -- to snatch back his victim from what he sought to do! Be that as it might, the old man rushed forward and caught the minister by the arm.
Now that the truth has been revealed in the open daylight of the public square, Pearl -- truth -- agrees to kiss Dimmesdale. Pearl now has a true father, and now the secret can no longer torment them from within. "'dear little Pearl, wilt thou kiss me now? Thou wouldst not yonder, in the forest! But now thou wilt?' Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken." (p. 234) It seems natural that Chillingworth would just wither away once he no longer had Dimmesdale under his power -- Chillingworth was described as a "leech", and once he has no source from which to drain, he dies. "All...[Chillingworth's] strenght and energy -- all his vital and intellectual force -- seemed at once to desert him; insomuch that he positively withered up, shrivelled away, and almost vanished from mortal sight, like an uprooted weed that lies wilting in the sun" (p. 238) By this time, the scarlet letter's meaning has become ambiguous. It is no longer just a symbol meant to show what happens when a person sins, but rather, it has now given Hester a certain authority and wisdom. This ambiguity reveals how it is difficult to exactly define sin and righteousness -- although Hester sinned, it's from this sin that she is able to learn and grow; her sin is not entirely a bad thing -- the situation is not just black and white. But evil, on the other hand, seems like an entirely different thing from sin. Evil, like in Chillingworth's case, does not allow a person to grow or learn from their mistakes. "The scarlet letter ceased to be a stigma which attracted the world's scorn and bitterness, and became a type of something to be sorrowed over, and looked upon with awe, yet with reverence too" (p. 240) Dimmesdale never actually says that he is Pearl's father, so once again, Hawthorne has left us only to assume that this is true. Hester returns to where her sin was committed after having left. Through her sin in this place, she has become who she is and this is where she gains her strength and personality. Hester's & Dimmesdale's shared tombstone says only, "ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A. GULES". (p. 241) This is hearaldic language describing a coat of arms, which shows that Dimmesdale and Hester were revered. Hawthorn presents the point that what you believe you have done, whether a sin or not, is more important than what society says is right and wrong. Hester comes back to the town even after they have so badly treated her; she almost feels accepted here. The coat of arms is described with words instead of simply drawn, because it leaves interpretation to the reader, which is what this story and all of literature is about --- Everything is about Reading people, about Reading people's hearts & motives, about making interpretations. Nothing is a clear picture painted for the reader of any story. Literature demands Interpretation. |
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Copyright November 17, 2010 Marie M. Furnary All rights reserved.