Solemn Conclusion

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 193-204)

As the sermon ends the townspeople exit the church there is a bussel of discussion on how moving the sermon was. This proved to be Dimmesdales best sermon yet. When Dimmesdale leaves the church the procession begins again except this time he looks tired and weary of the weight of his body. He slowly walked with the procession until he reached the scaffold where Hester and Pearl stood. He stopped and walked over to the scaffold and asked Pearl and Hester to come to him. Hester was very hesitant with the whole town watching and didn't want Dimmesdale to do this. The magistrstes couldn't understand what was going on and told him to send the child and Hester away. Dimmesdale lead Hester and Pearl up to the platform and he asked Pearl if she would kiss him, and she did. Dimmesdale made a speech on the platform confessing his sin and scolding the town for how they have treated Hester and loved him. He finished his speech and condemed Chillingworth for his wrong doing and he soon died on the platform. Hester and Pearl soon disappeared and Chillingworth fell ill. Within a year Chillingworth had died and left all of his estates to Pearl making her the largest heiress in New England. Pearl is belived to have lived in an estate in England and Hester returned to Salem to die. On her gravestone she bore the scarlet letter.

Disappearing Hope

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 184-192)

The procession goes by and Dimmesdale looks as happy as ever and vigorously walking with great enthusiasm. As he walks past Hester she longs for him to glance at her. Dimmesdale just walks by continuing briskly with the procession and Hester hardly recognizes this man who looks like Dimmesdale. Mistress Hibbins the witch lady mentions about Hester meeting with Dimmesdale in the forest and Hester tells her she does not know what Mistress Hibbins is talking about.
Most of the town is going into the church to listen to the sermon but Hester listens from outside near the scaffold while Pearl dances about and the mariners watch. The sea captain gives a message to Pearl to give to her mom. The sea captain says there is now only room on the ship for Hester and Pearl as Chillingworth is bringing a friend. As she gets this message a crowd forms around her of, first newcomers and visitors who have heard of the lady with the scarlet letter and then people of the town. Hester had previously felt accepted by the town and now just as she was going to escape the shame of the scarlet letter she is again tormented by the vicious comments and evil stares.

How will Hester tell Dimmesdale of the sea captains message? Surely she won't go to England without him. I wonder what friend Chillingworth plans to bring and why he wants to go to England. I feel bad for Hester that she made one mistake and has suffered for it all this time, as though the people ridiculing her are innocent. She finally was going to have hope and happiness and it's all disappearing.

Unexpected Change to Plans

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 167-183)

Coming home from the forest, despite his encounter with Pearl, Dimmesdale is happy and feels like a new man. He has urges to talk with people along the way home and is noticing that all is the same except for him. The only problem was when asked for a verse of encouragement the clergyman could not think of one to give. When Dimmesdale arrived at his home he immediately to his study. He had started a sermon for election day but due to his new attitude and that being the last sermon he would give before returning to England with Hester he decided to rewrite it. When Chillingworth came in, shock took over Dimmesdale and he sat and starred until offered medicine and then he declined and said he was feeling very well. Chillingworth seems suspicious and has an idea that Hester has talked to Dimmesdale.

The last day before they leave arrives and it will be the day the new governor is announced and Dimmesdale gives his speech. The procession of the late governor begins to come through when the ship captain informs Hester of an additional passenger- Roger Chillingworth.Hester plays off her shock by agreeing, no that shouldn't be a problem Dimmesdale has lived with him many years.

I am shocked. I wonder how Chillingworth managed to find out they were leaving town and get on the same boat as them. The clergyman was getting away from Chillingworth and now he is tagging along. Will Hester and Dimmesdale's Dream and hope for a new life be ruined?

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A FLOOD OF SUNSHINE and Then It's Gone

The Scarlet Letter

By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 156-166)

All of the thoughts rushing through Hester's and Dimmesdale's minds make the encounter even more fantastic. Dimmesdale says he won't leave the town alone and Hester said you won't. Dimmesdale tells Hester he has had no hope for the past seven years and now with the promise of Hester leaving with him he feels free. They both agree to leave Salem together and start a new life together. This experience is so freeing for them that Dimmesdale has left his glum state behind him and Hester removes the scarlet letter and lets her hair down. They only thing thats left is to tell Pearl and hope that she will accept Dimmesdale.

Hester assures Dimmesdale that he will love Pearl and she will love him. Dimmesdale was very nervous because other children typically do not enjoy his presence but he is hopeful because the encounters he has had with pearl have been positive. Hester calls Pearl to come and she can see Pearl in the distance. Pearl approaches but very slowly because Dimmesdale is with her mom. When Pearl arrives at the brook she refuses to cross and cries as she points at her mother bosom. Hester sees why Pearl is upset and puts her scarlet letter back on and her hair back up. Pearl then reluctantly goes to meet Mr. Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale as nervous as he is bends down and kisses Pearl on the forehead. Pearl then runs back to the brook to vigorously was her face.

Hester has made plans to leave Salem and even gives up her emblem of shame and plans to start a brand new life. Dimmesdale is happy for the first time in seven years and then the shame of his daughter washing his kiss off of her forehead promises to put a damper in that happiness. Will they still leave Salem despite Pearls discomfort? How will the next couple days effect their decisions?

The Black Man and His Book

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 137-155)

As Hester goes to leave the physician a go find Pearl she waits and watches him collect his herbs. She declares that she blames him and regrets that she was ever with him. Of course, Hester was not announcing this to anyone person but rather making a declaration of her inner most thoughts for him. She says she hates him regardless of its sinful nature she hates him. Then she leaves the path to go by the sea to find her Pearl. She discovers Pearl, who had been playing in the water, covered in seaweed with a green colored 'A' fashied on her seaweed dress. Pearl is curious about the emblem and thinks the meaning must be something good. Hester asks Pearl if she knows what the letter means and she replies it is why the minister holds his hand over his heart.

This has begun Pearls curiosity for the letter and Pearl constantly asks of its meaning. Hester plans to take Pearl for a walk through the woods in hope that she will run into Arthur Dimmesdale and reveal to him the identity of her husband. While in the forest Pearl asks about the Black man and his book. Hester admits to Pearl that she once met the Black man and, yes, that is why she wears the letter on her bosom. When Dimmesdale walks by Hester can barely bring herself to speak. Dimmesdale looks so defeated and glum in sorrow. Hester and Dimmesdale sit in silence for a while and Dimmesdale shares his misey in how he has not found peace. Hester tells Dimmesdale that Roger Chillingworth is her former husband. Dimmesdale is so sad that he feels he might have known and he would like to die in the wood. He was refusing to forgive Hester until she held him until he would forgive her. HE does and then believes Chillingworth to have done something much worse than they. He must ask Hester what to do as he can no longer live with her ex-husband. She tells him he must go and start anew elsewhere. He tells her he could not, not alone. Hester tells Dimmesdale he will not go alone.

Hester has not told Dimmesdale that she will go with him but that can be implied from the text. If he will not start anew elsewhere alone, who else would go with him? I wonder how Chillingworth will react to Dimmesdale once his true identity is known. Will the two men ever meet, or will Dimmesdale not return to his own home to avoid his enemy? If Hester does go with Dimmesdale what does that mean for Pearl?

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Dimmesdale's Guilt

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 102-124)

THE LEECH AND HIS PATIENT
Roger Chillingworth continues to befriend clergyman Mr. Dimmesdale and has decided to keep searching for answers. He is very careful about what he asks Mr. Dimmesdale but the passion he has for wanting to know if Mr. Dimmesdale is his wife's, daughter's, father causes him to be firm on occasions and leaves the clergyman somewhat suspicious.
THE INTERIOR OF THE HEART
Mr. Dimmesdale is tortured with the knowledge of his un-repented sin. The whole community adores him and as he is fallen ill, they are all very understanding as well as concerned about his health. When Dimmesdale preaches on what a sinner he is, not revealing his sin, the town only loves him more. Dimmesdale becomes overcome with guilt and begins to have visions of Hester unveiling his secret.
THE MINISTER'S VIGIL
Later Dimmesdale is so overcome with guilt he leaves his house and finds himself standing in front of the scaffold where Hester Prynne stood. He stands there and shortly after letting out a long cry Hester walked by from visiting the dying Governor and he asks her and Pearl to stand with him. A meteor shower exposes them to Roger Chillingworth who takes the clergyman home on his way from the Governor's house. The next morning Dimmesdale gives one of his best sermons yet. After the service one of the ministers announces that one of the clergyman's gloves was found on the scaffold platform and surely that must have been the work of the devil and that the 'A' that formed in the sky with meteores surly stood for Angel as he thinks Dimmesdale was sent from God.

Now that the Governor has passed away and the town loves Dimmesdale so much I wonder if they will want him to be Governor. In Puritan society the magistrates were not only religious icons but also government officials I wonder in the most popular clergyman, Dimmesdale will be asked to govern the town. Now that Chillingworth has seen Dimmesdale standing on the platform with Hester and Pearl he must surly know that Dimmesdale is feeling guilty and will soon revel his secret to his closest friend.

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Making Friends with the Enemy

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 79-101)

THE GOVERNOR'S HALL

The edifice of the governor was so beautiful it made Pearl want to dance. When Hester and Pearl knocked on the door they were told the Governor couldn't see them right then but Hester insisted on entering anyway. Not only did Hester have gloves to deliver to the Governor but she wished to speak to the governor about what she had heard that some in the community wished to take little Pearl away from her.

THE ELF CHILD AND THE MINISTER

They are looking out the window at the governor's garden when he comes down the stairs with his guests. Several of the magistrates are with him including clergyman Mr. Dimmesdale. When the topic arrives at the discussion of the child Hester makes her plea that the child is God's gift to her and also a torture as a constant reminder of her sin and they should not take Pearl from her. When the Governor doesn't hear the words of this poor sinner Hester pleas with Mr. Dimmesdale to defend her. Mr. Dimmesdale does so and mostly repeats Hester's argument and after such they all agree the child must stay with her mother but also attend church and meetings.

THE LEECH

This section talks of Roger Chillingworth, who was previously introduced as Hester's husband. This man of knowledge and medicine has now made a name for himself as a God sent man of medicine to heal the town and treat sickness. When the clergyman Mr. Dimmesdale falls ill Chillingworth is called to treat him. Chillingworth begins to live with the clergyman and insists on knowing him inside and out in order to treat him. A friendship bonds and Chillingworth hopes Dimmesdale will spill his deepest secret.



Hester's Husband taking a liking to the unknown father of the infant is very peculiar. Chillingworth all along had been searching for the man that sinned with his wife and had managed to keep his purposes hidden. If I was Chillingworth an I suspected Dimmesdale I don't see that I could be friends with such an enemy.

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THE INTERVIEW, HESTER AT HER NEEDLE, and PEARL

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 56-78)
THE INTERVIEW
The stranger comes to the jail and tells the jailer he is a doctor and can help Hester be less of a bother. When the stranger is a lone with Hester he reveals himself to be her husband but makes her promise to not tell anyone of their relation or he will find the infants father and reveal Hester's secret. The stranger, Hester's husband leaves her alone and we now know him to be Roger Chillingworth.
HESTER AT HER NEEDLE
When Hester was released from jail she found an abandonned house on the outskirts of town and began to live there and raise her child. She felt she should stay where her sin was commited in prder to purge herself of it. She was able to make money by embroidering clothing. Her embroidery became so popular and in fashion even the government offivials wore it. To deliver the garmets Hester would go into town and feel great pain as townsfol starred at her scarlet letter. But Hester sometimes feels the letter posses a power to detect other people's sins.
PEARL
Pearl is the name of the infant. As Pearl grows up Hester is worried by her wild and vivacious personality and it reminds her of how she was before she had Pearl. The townspeople believe Pearl to be a demon child and even Hester sometimes questions if the infant is infact human. Pearl does not like the other children of the town and trows rocks at them when they stare at her. When Pearl plays she pretends the town children are weedsas she plucks them from the ground.

Now we see how Hester and Pearl live. How though Hester knows where her husband is she must not see him or tell anyone of how she knows him. Hester and Pearl must live alone isolated from the community. It's very sad that Pearl must also pay for her mother's sin. She plays by herself and has no one in the world but her mom. I wonder what conflict will arise in the next chapter that will cause the dynamic of the story to change. Life seems to be calm and routine as possible for Hester and Pearl, but I'm sure there will be something to shake things up.

VIDEO:
HowStuffWorks Videos "The Scarlet Letter: Hester and Her Daughter Pearl"

The Recognition

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg.49-56)

This chapter begins with Hester still standing on the platform when something catches her eye. An Indian man stands on the outskirts of the crowd and with him a white man whom Hawthorne refers to as the stranger. The stranger finds himself staring at Hester, not at her letter but he looks at her as a person. Hester finds a strange comfort in looking at him as if all the other people in the crowd disappear. The stranger asks a towns person about the woman and why she must stand on the platform of the pillory. Through this dialogue we find that she must stand on the platform for three hours and then must wear the mark of an adulteress for the rest of her life. The towns person also tells the stranger that Hester's Husband does not live in the community but was to come to the colony shortly after her and has never shown up. In effort to once again find out who the father the infant, and the other sinner is, Reverend Dimmesdale and Clergyman Wilson question Hester again. Both men make attempts to convince Hester it is best and the right thing to do to call out the name of the other sinner. When Hester refuses a sermon is given and Hester still refuses to say the name of the man who is the father to her child. So then the three hours are up and Hester is brought back to jail.

I predict this will be a very influential scene that the rest of the story will build upon. Will Hester's husband ever return? Perhaps the stranger really does know Hester maybe he is her husband or even the father of her child. This hook of mystery gives few answers but leaves many questions.

The Prison Door

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 39-48)

The scene opens to a throng of people outside the jail waiting for one Hester Prynne to come out to face her punishment. Many of the townswomen and gossips believe the magistrates were not harsh enough in their punishment. The women believe Hester to be nothing more than an adulteress and feel the law needs to be carried out and the punishment for adultery should be death, as written. The magistrates have decided to punish Hester through public embarrassment and social isolation. She must wear a scarlet 'A' upon her bosom so that all may see it and know she is an adulteress. The townswomen are yet again disappointed when they see how beautifully Hester has embroidered the letter onto her garments. Ostentatious garments were not allowed in the community and one of the women would rather the letter be made of rags. Then as Hester exits the jail and is walked to the center of the town to stand on the platform so all can look upon her letter; Hawthorne allows the reader to have insight into what Hester is feeling. How at first she doesn't believe this humiliation to be reality and tries to escape it inside herself. But when she touches the letter her child lets out a cry and she is stricken with reality.

This is a very powerful way for Hawthorne to introduce the main character. The imagery and symbolism lets the reader feel the shame Hester is going through. The dialog allows the reader to relate to Hester and ask themselves how those word might make them feel. Just how the jail, a place for criminals and not holding any beauty, had roses outs side the rusted iron door, Hester though considered to deserve death by most of the town, Hawthorne describes her beauty.

Something Good Out of Something Bad

The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 18- 38)
To finish the section on The Custom House, Hawthorne describes a few more influential people that he worked with. The Collector was an Old General who after his military service rules over a Western territory. When at the Custom House Hawthorne saw the Collector as an introvert, who sat in solitude in a chair in front of the fireplace. Though old and having lost the ease in his ability to hear and speak, the General was still viewed as retaining the look of strength. The Surveyor seldom tried to engage the General in conversation but was himself reserved. The personalities of these folks Hawthorne worked with were greatly contrasted with those of the passing merchants and Ship Masters. Hawthorne felt a large benefit came from these experiences while he was at the Custom House. One of which being he found a boost to his moral and intellectual heath to have companions like the General and the Surveyor who were so much different than himself and required a great effort for him to appreciate.
Soon after this realization, Hawthorne discovered something peculiar while going through the late Mr. Surveyor Pue's things. He found a swatch of scarlet fabric in the shape of the letter 'A' and attached to it a description of its meaning and a chronology of a woman named, Hester Prynne. Hawthorne is intrigued by this letter and the woman's story and feels lead to write about her, but all the while working at the Custom House Hawthorne experiences what I can only describe as writer's block. Whether fortunate or not, some time later at the mark of three years after Hawthorne's service at the Custom House he is made a public spectacle and thrown out of office. The Wigs party prevailed and despite new President Taylor's promise to not remove civil servants of opposing parties the town of Salem wouldn't have it any other way. They made a mockery of Hawthorne and the act of being thrown out of office was described as "guillotine politics". This left Hawthorne with nothing to go back to but writing.
Hawthorne's experience while working at the Custom House was not always pleasant. Sometimes the people he worked with he had to appologize for the boring manner in which he described them. The way that Hawthorne was relieved of his position left no good thought of him in the community. The townspeople already hadn't respected him as a writer and then they celebrated his removal from his position. This was all probably very embarrasing for Hawthorne and yet he wrote of a possitive benefit of working at the Custom House. Had Hawthorne not worked at the Custom House he would not have dicovered the scarlet letter or have known anything of Hester Prynne. His negitive publicity effected him as a writter and though he had writer's block while working in the Custom House, writing was all he could do afterwards. Hawthorne may not have been such a distinguished author had he not been through that difficult circumstance. That is a perfect example of how bad things can be turned for the better.

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The Custom House

http://www.west-norfolk.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=21817
The Scarlet Letter By: Nathaniel Hawthorne (pg. 1-17)

In this first section of The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne is setting the scene. He goes into great detail to describe the town of Salem and its extensive History. He describes the power of the town of Salem and how regardless the distance and time he spends away from it he always seem to be drawn back to the town of his birth and family history.
The town of Salem is described as less of what is was in its glory day with dilapidated buildings, wharves, and deconstructed ports. The center of the town at this time is the Custom House, which itself is not in good condition. After the description of the town the Custom House become the center of the story. Hawthorne tells of how he had three years of experience in such a Custom House. He was put in charge of this Custom House via a President's Commission to be Chief Executive Officer of the Custom House.
As Chief Executive Officer of the Custom House Hawthorne is in charge of the men who work there. Hawthorne describes these men as elderly and procrastinates, trying to avoid doing their work. Though he states the workers gave him a hard time in the beginning of his term he describes that they had believed that he would fire them and hire younger workers. Hawthorne explains he eventually grew fond of the men and goes into detail to describe each one individually.
The purpose of this first section of The Scarlet Letter is to set the scene. Hawthorne describes everything with immense detail and uses imagery to describe his position in the setting of this story.