What happens to the Scarlet Letter a after Hester dies?
Years later Hester returns to New England, where she continues to wear the scarlet letter. After her death she is buried next to Dimmesdale, and their joint tombstone is inscribed with “ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A, GULES.” The scarlet letter A that Hester is forced to wear is finely embroidered with gold-coloured thread.
What happens to Dimmesdale in the Scarlet Letter?
Dimmesdale dies believing that his soul has been saved, but he does not get the chance to enjoy a life with Hester and Pearl. Hester is able to regain a sense of agency by voluntarily choosing to re-enter the community, and wearing the scarlet letter by choice rather than out of obligation.
Who are the characters in the Scarlet Letter?
The Scarlet Letter characters include: Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl, Governor Bellingham, Mistress Hibbins. Want study tips sent straight to your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter!
What is the message of the Scarlet Letter?
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance, an 1850 novel, is a work of historical fiction written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered his "masterwork". ... The major theme of The Scarlet Letter is shaming and social stigmatizing, both Hester's public humiliation and Dimmesdale's private shame and fear of exposure.
Who kills Dimmesdale?
physician Roger ChillingworthJust which one came to this conclusion first is a bit uncertain. But both say physician Roger Chillingworth used poison to murder the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, the preacher who fathered a child by adulteress Hester Prynne. Chillingworth was Prynne's husband.
What happened to Dimmesdale?
Dimmesdale is broken by his own sense of guilt, and he publicly confesses his adultery before dying in Hester's arms. Only Hester can face the future bravely, as she prepares to begin a new life with her daughter, Pearl, in Europe.
What happens to Pearl after Dimmesdale dies?
Soon after Dimmesdale dies, Roger Chillingworth also passes away. He leaves all of his estate to Pearl, who immediately becomes the wealthiest heiress in the New World. Hester and Pearl then disappear for several years.
How does the minister died in Scarlet Letter?
Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing a scarlet letter seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead, as Pearl kisses him.
What happened to Chillingworth?
Left with no object for his malice, Chillingworth wastes away and dies within a year of the minister's passing, leaving a sizable inheritance to Pearl.
What happens to Hester Pearl and Chillingworth?
A short time later, Chillingworth also dies and leaves his fortune to Pearl; Pearl and Hester go abroad, but Hester returns alone years later to live out her days quietly in the New England community. The ending turns the story into a narrative of redemption, and one in which good triumphs over evil.
What does Pearl do when Dimmesdale kisses her?
Pearl desires the minister to acknowledge her in public. While Hester assures her that this admission will happen in the future, Dimmesdale kisses Pearl's forehead in an attempt to mollify her. Pearl immediately goes to the brook and washes off the kiss.
Does Hester still love Dimmesdale?
Hester realizes that she still loves Dimmesdale, and she courageously tells him this, even as she reveals her silence concerning Chillingworth. Hawthorne contrasts their love — "which had a consecration of its own" — and Chillingworth's revenge and asks the reader which sin is worse.
Where is Hester buried?
Finally, Hester becomes a symbol of comfort and compassion, and upon her death, she is buried in the cemetery near the prison door where she first was incarcerated. While alive, she gives hope and comfort to those who feel sorrow and pain, and, accordingly, the scarlet letter becomes a symbol of help.
Does Pearl know who her father is?
Hester keeps secret the name of her illegitimate child's father (Reverend Dimmesdale) and the true identity of Roger Chillingworth (her husband). She will not reveal Pearl's father to protect Reverend Dimmesdale's reputation, as he is the minister of the church.
Who dies when Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold?
The structural juxtaposition of Governor Winthrop's death with Dimmesdale's crisis is significant. Winthrop was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and its first governor.
Why is Dimmesdale still alive from Chillingworth?
Hester tells Chillingworth he holds Dimmesdale's life in his hands. Chillingworth says he saved Dimmesdale's life by not revealing his link to Hester from the start. Hester says he would be better off dead than forced to endure Chillingworth's torture. Chillingworth, and other Puritans, equates reputation with life.
What ultimately happens to Pearl?
What ultimately happens to Pearl, and why do you think Hester chooses to remain in the village? She leaves to go seek a new life in Europe. Chillingworth left all his inheritance to Pearl, after he died. Pearl became super rich, she got married, and started a family.
How does Pearl become wealthy?
How does Pearl become wealthy? She discovers pirates' treasure. She marries the governor's son. She inherits Chillingworth's estate and marries a nobleman.
Who is the black man in the scarlet letter?
In Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter, the Black Man of the forest is none other than Roger Chillingworth. Some may read the novel and assume that Dimmesdale is the Black Man. It may be viewed that Dimmesdale s affair with Hester is the cause for the scarlet letter, but this is untrue.
Why does Pearl cry at the beginning of the scarlet letter?
When Hester and Pearl visit the governor, “Pearl, seeing the rose-bushes, began to cry for a red rose, and would not be pacified” (96). Pearl's affection and attraction towards the rose bush is undeniable, and the wild rose bush becomes a symbol of the defiance within her.
What happens at the end of Scarlet Letter?
The Scarlet Letter. At the end of the novel, Dimmesdale makes a speech and exposes his chest to the community gathered around the scaffold, then dies. A short time later, Chillingworth also dies and leaves his fortune to Pearl; Pearl and Hester go abroad, but Hester returns alone years later to live out her days quietly in the New England community.
What does the narrator say about Hester?
The narrator reflects that Hester “recognized the impossibility that any mission of divine or mysterious truth should be confided to a woman stained with sin.”. The final image of the novel is a description of Hester’s tombstone, emblazoned with the letter A.
Is Chillingworth's ending happy?
However, while the ending does allow for redemption and peace, it is not , strictly speaking, a happy ending.
What is the scarlet letter in The Scarlet Letter?
In the novel The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a woman by the name of Hester Prynne commits the ultimate sin, adultery, and must live with her consequences. Her punishment for this unthinkable crime is to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest to represent “adulterer”, and stand on a scaffold to face as much public humiliation as possible. This tore Hester apart and slowly stripped away her sanity. Even so, she refused to reveal the identity of her lover. Late in the book, Reverend Dimmesdale reveals himself as the man who was involved with Hester.…
What does Dimmesdale's condemnation of the scarlet letter mean?
Being that Dimmesdale’s condemnation causes him to believe that the scarlet letter was painfully inflicted upon him due to adultery and that God decided he should die publicly, readers believe that his fate was predetermined by his religion. Moreover, in the conclusion section of the novel, Hawthorne describes that as a result of her adultery, Hester cannot find her “little Pearl,” for “none knew-nor ever learned, with the fulness of perfect certainty-whether the elf child had gone thus untimely to a maiden grave; or whether her wild, rich nature had been softened and subdued” (248). Hester felt extremely frustrated with losing Pearl, for she was a living embodiment of Hester’s sin. Pearl served as remembrance for Hester’s adultery, and losing Pearl meant losing an opportunity for such remembrance and reflection.…
What does Dimmesdale describe in the book?
In the novel, Dimmesdale describes sin as concealment, hypocrisy, and adultery. He does so not through words themselves, but through his actions and reactions to these sins. In the Christian faith, committing adultery would break one of the ten commandments. Dimmesdale continually breaks them to hide his sin. In the beginning of the novel it is find out that the minister, Dimmesdale, sinned when he committed this act of adultery with Hester, a married woman.…
What is the purpose of life in the death of Ivan Ilych?
Christopher Plevinsky Topic 1 In The Death of Ivan Ilych death reveals the purpose of life by showing the regrets that he had. “Ivan Ilych's life had been most simple and most ordinary and therefore most terrible.” (p. 21). It was not until his death that he realized that his life was terrible. On his death bed as he looked back upon the life he lived and wondered how he had gone through it with no purpose. He was also filled with self-doubt about his life when being confronted by death.…
What does Hawthorne say about guilt?
Throughout the text, Hawthorne shows the reader that guilt will consume one so drastically that the affected individual will become physically weaker and feel as if guilt is the only factor in their life. This is only true if the shameful individual does not tell the truth, which Dimmesdale has not. Dimmesdale quite oftenly acknowledges his guilt in his words, without blatantly saying what his sin is. After guilt has overwhelmed him, Dimmesdale says to his himself, “I, your pastor, who you so reverence and trust, am utterly a…
Why does Boethius believe he has lost everything?
As Philosophy enters she takes all of this in and realizes that he has to be reminded of everything he still has within himself . When you give your body supremacy, you are much more likely to lose everything. Our wealth and power can be taken away from us in a matter of moments as Boethius is learning. When we give our souls supremacy , we don’t care as much about the material world.…
What is the scarlet letter A?
The scarlet letter A that Hester is forced to wear is finely embroidered with gold-coloured thread. As both a badge of shame and a beautifully wrought human artifact, it reflects the many oppositions in the novel, such as those between order and transgression, civilization and wilderness, and adulthood and childhood.
Where does Hester go in Scarlet Letter?
Only Hester can face the future bravely, as she prepares to begin a new life with her daughter, Pearl, in Europe. Years later Hester returns to New England, where she continues to wear the scarlet letter.
What is Dimmesdale's sense of torment at his guilty secret and the physical and mental manifestations of?
Dimmesdale’s sense of torment at his guilty secret and the physical and mental manifestations of his malaise reflect the pathology of a society that needs to scapegoat and alienate its so-called sinners. Eventually, personal integrity is able to break free from social control.
Who is Chillingworth obsessed with?
After Hester refuses to name her lover, Chillingworth becomes obsessed with finding his identity. When he learns that the man in question is Arthur Dimmesdale, a saintly young minister who is the leader of those exhorting her to name the child’s father, Chillingworth proceeds to torment him.
What is the name of the book by Nathaniel Hawthorne?
His publications include Tragedy and Irish Literature ... The Scarlet Letter, novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. It is considered a masterpiece of American literature and a classic moral study. Nathaniel Hawthorne, photograph by Mathew Brady. Every answer in this quiz is the name of a novelist.
What does the scarlet letter mean in the book?
The letter, a patch of fabric in the shape of an “A,” signifies that Hester is an “adulterer.”.
Who is the father of Hester's child?
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is a young man who achieved fame in England as a theologian and then emigrated to America. In a moment of weakness, he and Hester became lovers. Although he will not confess it publicly, he is the father of her child.
Who is the narrator in The Salem Custom House?
The unnamed narrator works as the surveyor of the Salem Custom-House some two hundred years after the novel’s events take place. He discovers an old manuscript in the building’s attic that tells the story of Hester Prynne; when he loses his job, he decides to write a fictional treatment of the narrative. The narrator is a rather high-strung man, whose Puritan ancestry makes him feel guilty about his writing career. He writes because he is interested in American history and because he believes that America needs to better understand its religious and moral heritage.
Who is Hester's husband in the novel?
“Roger Chillingworth” is actually Hester’s husband in disguise. He is much older than she is and had sent her to America while he settled his affairs in Europe. Because he is captured by Native Americans, he arrives in Boston belatedly and finds Hester and her illegitimate child being displayed on the scaffold. He lusts for revenge, and thus decides to stay in Boston despite his wife’s betrayal and disgrace. He is a scholar and uses his knowledge to disguise himself as a doctor, intent on discovering and tormenting Hester’s anonymous lover. Chillingworth is self-absorbed and both physically and psychologically monstrous. His single-minded pursuit of retribution reveals him to be the most malevolent character in the novel.
Is Roger Chillingworth a monstrous character?
Chillingworth is self-absorbed and both physically and psychologically monstrous. His single-minded pursuit of retribution reveals him to be the most malevolent character in the novel. Read an in-depth analysis of Roger Chillingworth.
What chapter does Dimmesdale walk to the scaffold?
Chapter 12 - The Minister's Vigil. After leaving the house, Dimmesdale walks to the scaffold where, seven years earlier, Hester Prynne stood, wearing her sign of shame and holding Pearl. Now, in the damp, cool air of the cloudy May night, Dimmesdale mounts the steps while the town sleeps. Realizing the mockery of his being able to stand there now, ...
What does Dimmesdale fear when he is forced to confess?
When Dimmesdale is forced by Pearl's repeated question to bring the issue into the open, his fear of confession still dominates his subconscious desire to confess. Just as the town was asleep earlier and there was "no peril of discovery," now he backs off once again.
What are the three potential observers in the scaffold scene?
As in the first scaffold scene, this chapter abounds in both major and minor symbols: the scaffold itself; Dimmesdale's standing on it; the three potential observers representing Church, State, and the World of Evil; the "electric chain" of Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale; Pearl's appeal to Dimmesdale; the revealing light from the heavens; and the variation on the letter A.
What time does the scaffold scene take place?
The first scaffold scene took place during the noon hours and concentrated on Hester's guilt and punishment. This second scene, occurring at the midnight hours, puts both "sinners" on the scaffold and concentrates on Dimmesdale's guilt and punishment. All the major characters of the first scene are again present.
Who is Pearl pointing toward in the book?
At the same instant, Dimmesdale is aware that Pearl is pointing toward Roger Chillingworth who stands nearby, grimly smiling up at the three people on the scaffold. Overcome with terror, Dimmesdale asks Hester about the true identity of Chillingworth. Remembering her promise to Chillingworth, Hester remains silent.
Did the A appear in Dimmesdale's imagination?
Although the sexton refers to the letter, Hawthorne suggests that the A may have appeared only in Dimmesdale's imagination: "We impute it . . . solely to the disease in his own eye and heart, that the minister, looking upward to the zenith, beheld there the appearance of an immense letter.".
What is the nameless narrator in The Scarlet Letter?
The Scarlet Letter. The Scarlet Letter opens with a long preamble about how the book came to be written. The nameless narrator was the surveyor of the customhouse in Salem, Massachusetts. In the customhouse’s attic, he discovered a number of documents, among them a manuscript that was bundled with a scarlet, gold-embroidered patch ...
Where does the Scarlet Letter take place?
The Scarlet Letter is the final product. The story begins in seventeenth-century Boston, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast. A man in the crowd tells an elderly onlooker that Hester is being punished for adultery.
What does Dimmesdale refuse to acknowledge?
Dimmesdale refuses Pearl’s request that he acknowledge her publicly the next day, and a meteor marks a dull red “A” in the night sky. Hester can see that the minister’s condition is worsening, and she resolves to intervene. She goes to Chillingworth and asks him to stop adding to Dimmesdale’s self-torment.
Why does Hester arrange an encounter with Dimmesdale in the forest?
Hester arranges an encounter with Dimmesdale in the forest because she is aware that Chillingworth has probably guessed that she plans to reveal his identity to Dimmesdale. The former lovers decide to flee to Europe, where they can live with Pearl as a family. They will take a ship sailing from Boston in four days. Both feel a sense of release, and Hester removes her scarlet letter and lets down her hair. Pearl, playing nearby, does not recognize her mother without the letter. The day before the ship is to sail, the townspeople gather for a holiday and Dimmesdale preaches his most eloquent sermon ever. Meanwhile, Hester has learned that Chillingworth knows of their plan and has booked passage on the same ship. Dimmesdale, leaving the church after his sermon, sees Hester and Pearl standing before the town scaffold. He impulsively mounts the scaffold with his lover and his daughter, and confesses publicly, exposing a scarlet letter seared into the flesh of his chest. He falls dead, as Pearl kisses him.
Why does Chillingworth move in with the minister?
Chillingworth attaches himself to the ailing minister and eventually moves in with him so that he can provide his patient with round-the-clock care. Chillingworth also suspects that there may be a connection between the minister’s torments and Hester’s secret, and he begins to test Dimmesdale to see what he can learn.
What does Chillingworth discover in the book?
One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the man’s breast (the details of which are kept from the reader), which convinces him that his suspicions are correct. Dimmesdale’s psychological anguish deepens, and he invents new tortures for himself.
Who is Hester's missing husband?
The elderly onlooker is Hester’s missing husband, who is now practicing medicine and calling himself Roger Chillingworth. He settles in Boston, intent on revenge. He reveals his true identity to no one but Hester, whom he has sworn to secrecy. Several years pass. Hester supports herself by working as a seamstress, and Pearl grows into a willful, impish child. Shunned by the community, they live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston. Community officials attempt to take Pearl away from Hester, but, with the help of Arthur Dimmesdale, a young and eloquent minister, the mother and daughter manage to stay together. Dimmesdale, however, appears to be wasting away and suffers from mysterious heart trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress. Chillingworth attaches himself to the ailing minister and eventually moves in with him so that he can provide his patient with round-the-clock care. Chillingworth also suspects that there may be a connection between the minister’s torments and Hester’s secret, and he begins to test Dimmesdale to see what he can learn. One afternoon, while the minister sleeps, Chillingworth discovers a mark on the man’s breast (the details of which are kept from the reader), which convinces him that his suspicions are correct.
What does Pearl do with her mother's scarlet letter?
Pearl makes us constantly aware of her mother’s scarlet letter and of the society that produced it. From an early age, she fixates on the emblem. Pearl’s innocent, or perhaps intuitive, comments about the letter raise crucial questions about its meaning. Similarly, she inquires about the relationships between those around her—most important, ...
How old is Pearl in The Scarlet Letter?
Hester’s daughter, Pearl, functions primarily as a symbol. She is quite young during most of the events of this novel—when Dimmesdale dies she is only seven years old—and her real importance lies in her ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks them pointed questions and draws their attention, and the reader’s, to the denied or overlooked truths of the adult world. In general, children in The Scarlet Letter are portrayed as more perceptive and more honest than adults, and Pearl is the most perceptive of them all.
Overview
Plot
In Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, a crowd gathers to witness the punishment of Hester Prynne, a young woman who has given birth to a baby of unknown paternity. Her sentence requires her to stand on the scaffold for three hours, exposed to public humiliation, and to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life. As Hester approaches the scaffold, many of the women in the crowd are angered by her beauty and quiet dignity. When commanded and cajoled to name the father of h…
Major theme
The major theme of The Scarlet Letter is shaming and social stigma, as seen both in Prynne's public humiliation and in Dimmesdale's private shame and fear of exposure. Notably, their liaison is never spoken of, so the circumstances that led to Prynne's pregnancy never become part of the plot.
Elmer Kennedy-Andrews remarks that Hawthorne in "The Custom-house" sets the context for hi…
Publication history
It was long thought that Hawthorne originally planned The Scarlet Letter to be a shorter novelette, part of a collection named Old Time Legends, and that his publisher, James T. Fields, convinced him to expand the work to a full-length novel. This is not true: Fields persuaded Hawthorne to publish The Scarlet Letter alone (along with the earlier-completed "Custom House" essay) but he had nothing to do with the length of the story. Hawthorne's wife Sophia later challenged Fields' cl…
Critical response
On its publication, critic Evert Augustus Duyckinck, a friend of Hawthorne's, said he preferred the author's Washington Irving-like tales. Another friend, critic Edwin Percy Whipple, objected to the novel's "morbid intensity" with dense psychological details, writing that the book "is therefore apt to become, like Hawthorne, too painfully anatomical in his exhibition of them". English writer Mary Anne Evans writing as "George Eliot", called The Scarlet Letter, along with Henry Wadsworth Lon…
Allusions
The following are historical and Biblical references that appear in The Scarlet Letter.
• Anne Hutchinson, mentioned in Chapter 1, "The Prison Door", was a religious dissenter (1591–1643). In the 1630s she was excommunicated by the Puritans and exiled from Boston, and moved to Rhode Island.
• Ann Hibbins, who historically was executed for witchcraft in Boston in 1656, is depicted in The Scarlet Letter as a witch who tries to tempt Prynne to the practice of wit…
Symbols
The following are symbols that are embedded in The Scarlet Letter:
• The Scarlet Letter "A": In the beginning of the novel, Hester's letter "A" is a representation of her sin and adultery. However, as time progresses, the meaning of the letter changed. To some, it now meant "able". The novel states, "The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her—so much power to do, and power to sympathize—that many people refused t…
Adaptations and influence
The Scarlet Letter has inspired numerous film, television, and stage adaptations, and plot elements have influenced several novels, musical works, and screen productions.