In this chapter, a crowd of bearded men and women are standing outside of the door to what is probably the prison. The narrator, who is the man who found the documents in the custom house, discusses the vision of the perfect world the Puritans who settled there and how they ironically built a prison and a cemetery as the first buildings when they arrived in the new world. A beautiful rose bush stands, out of place, by the prison door.
Holding an infant, a Woman named Hester Prynne is forcibly transferred from the prison to a scaffold, where she is to be publicly criticized. Women in the crowd make disparaging comment on Hester who committed adultery and has born a child whose father is unknown. Women also criticize a letter “A” with gold and
…show more content…
With his knowledge about remedies, he becomes a doctor. Therefore, he tries to cure Dimmesdale, who has been suffering from health problems. As time has passed, the townspeople doubt Chillingworth’s identity, which they think he might be a Satan.
While Chillingworth and Dimmesdale are having conversation, they hear the laughter of Pearl who is dancing in the graveyard. As Pearl and her mother leave, Dimmesdale tells Chillingworth that Hester is less miserable for scarlet letter. With full of suspicions, Chillingworth leaves the room and comes back while Dimmesdale is asleep. As he takes off Dimmesdale’s shirt, he expresses feeling of wonder, joy, and horror.
Even though Chillingworth knows the truth of Dimmesdale, he does not reveal his feelings and continues questioning Dimmesdale. When Chillingworth is gone, Dimmesdale starts torturing himself with a whip and he fasts. Keep suffering, Dimmesdale, eventually, decides to go to the scaffold where Hester was due to her sin.
Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold and screams because of his pain on his chest (breast). As he stays on the scaffold, he starts laughing continuously and hears Pearl’s voice. Returning from the deathbed, Hester and Pearl meet Dimmesdale. While they hold hands on the scaffold, Chillingworth approaches to
…show more content…
While they are walking in the forest, Pearl keeps asking about the “Black Man” and the connection with the scarlet letter. Feeling disturbed, Hester tells Pearl to go away and play.
In the forest, Hester confesses Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is her husband. Feeling irritated, Dimmesdale scolds Hester for his suffering, but soon forgives her. Defining Chillingworth as a worse sinner than both Hester and himself, Dimmesdale worries about Chillingworth exposing their relationship to the public. Therefore, he suggests Hester moving to Europe to live as a family.
Hester and Dimmesdale have decided to move to Europe for their child and themselves too. Feeling joyfulness, Dimmesdale throws the scarlet letter away from Hester’s bosom. Hester, knowing that Dimmesdale will be a father of Pearl, tells him that both he and Pearl should be able to know each other as a father and a daughter. Hester calls Pearl, being cautious due to the