Chapter 16 As Pearl and Hester are out in the woods, Pearl runs around catching sunlight and tells her mother to catch some too. As soon as Hester reaches out to catch the sunlight, it quickly turns to shadow possibly suggesting that light can’t exist where darkness, or sin, does. Hester and Dimmesdale’s meeting takes place in the forest because Hester believes it to be a safe haven away from the judgmental townspeople and a place where she can speak openly. The forest begins to transform into a place of freedom and openness of thought and speech. The forest also takes on a negative significance as it represents sin and darkness, according to the Puritan society, and a place where Satan and the Black Man dwell. When Pearl questions Hester about the Black Man and if she received her “A” from him, Hester tells her that she did receive her mark from him. …show more content…
Dimmesdale believes that he has not shown penitence for his sin and still believes himself to be unclean. 6) We learn that Dimmesdale and Hester love each other and that Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. Hester and Dimmesdale believe that their sin is nothing in comparison to the heinous sin that Chillingworth has committed by using their sin against them. 7) Towards the end of this chapter, Hester unfolds her plan to run away with Dimmesdale from their town to which Dimmesdale replies “Thou shalt not go alone!”. Chapter 18 8) Hester, although held in a higher regard in the town, is still considered to be an outcast and therefore she is free to move and nothing to tie her down. On the other hand, Dimmesdale is considered to be at the top of the social ladder because of his role as the spiritual leader and therefore he is anchored to the town. Dimmesdale decides to leave the town in order to live as a family with Pearl and