BIG STUDY

What is the setting of the novel?

Fiction novel set in the puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649.

How long does the story take place?

1642 to 1649 (7 years)

What does the rosebush symbolize?

It represents kindness and forgiveness. Since the prison is a place of darkness and sin, the beauty of a wild rose bush growing in such an unexpected place symbolizes God's grace.

When is Hester first put on the scaffold?

The first scaffold scene takes place during the noon hours and concentrates on Hester's guilt and punishment after she is released from prison.

When Hester is first on the scaffold, what does she see that unsettles her?

Roger Chillingworth

How old is Pearl when Hester is released from prison?

Three months old

What kind of husband is Chillingworth before Hester leaves England?

kind, true, just, and of constant, if not warm affections.

Why didn't Chillingworth travel with Hester to America?

Arriving two years later, he had remained behind in England to wrap up business, but his ship was wrecked during his journey to America.

What are some of the events that occur at the scaffold?

She notices her ex-husband, Dimsdale is hesitant to speak to her, Pearl cries as Hester clutches her so hard, and she keeps Chillingworths and Dimmesdale' identity a secret.

Who is Pearl's father?

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale

How does Hester support herself and Pearl?

Using her needlework skills

How does Dimmesdale act before meeting Hester?

Dimmesdale, the personification of "human frailty and sorrow," is young, pale, and physically delicate. He has large, melancholy eyes and a tremulous mouth, suggesting great sensitivity. An ordained Puritan minister, he is well educated, and he has a philosophical turn of mind.

How does Pearl dress in comparison to her mother?

Pearl is dressed by her mother to represent the Scarlet Letter. Her dress brings her mother's badge of shame to a new level, almost as if Pearl is wearing a similar symbol of her mother's shame. Pearl always wears very nice, colorful, and put-together clothes, while Hester's clothes are crisp and clean.

How do the village children act toward Pearl?

The Puritan children in town do not accept Pearl. The other children are mistrustful of her and often insult her. Some say she is a demon offspring.

What are some of the punishments for adultery?

Public shame, wearing the Scarlet Letter, death, branding the adulter, and prison.

How does Hester exhibit her passionate nature?

By being kind and giving to the poor and always giving her best to Pearl.

How does Hester feel about Pearl?

Pearl is both the sign of Hester's shame and her greatest treasure—she is a punishment and a consolation. Pearl reminds Hester of her transgression, of the act that has left Hester in her current state of alienation. And Pearl's ostracism by the community recalls Hester's feelings of exile. In chapter 6, Hester worries that a fiend possesses Pearl, an impression strengthened when Pearl denies having a Heavenly Father and then laughingly demands that Hester tell her where she came from.

From where does Hester think Pearl's wildness come?

Hester accounts for the aspects of Pearl's character that trouble her, including her disobedience and stubbornness, by deeming that her own feelings have been transferred over to Pearl.

How does Pearl feel about Dimmesdale?

Deep down Pearl shares a connection to Dimmesdale but does not show any affection towards him until he confesses his sin and dies. At this climatic moment, Pearl sheds tears for her father and gives him an affectionate kiss.

Describe Bellingham's mansion?

Governor Bellingham's mansion is bold and bright.

Where does Chillingworth stay when he comes to town?

With Dimmesdale

Why is Chillingworth allowed to visit Hester in prison?

The guard allows him to enter to stop Pearl's crying because he is a Physician.

Does Pearl understand the meaning of the letter?

Although she is drawn to the Scarlet Letter and constantly reminds Hester of it, she does not fully grasp the meaning of it.

What do the townspeople think of Pearl?

The townspeople see her as a bad influence on the other children and as an unholy child, further distancing her from the rest of society. However, unlike her mother, Pearl is not concerned with being accepted by the people of their town.

Who does Dimmesdale call out for from the scaffold?

Hester and Pearl

Does Hester want Dimmesdale to confess?

No

How does Dimmesdale's congregation view him?

Reverend Dimmesdale's congregation thinks of him as a saint, and that he walks on the path of God, and that he convenes with the angels and fights away the devil. This is ironic because his congregation doesn't know about his deep dark secret, which is his sinful affair with Hester Prynne.

What does Bellingham decide about Pearl?

Governor Bellingham shows he can be reasonable and a fair man, because he listens carefully to the arguments Dimmesdale and Hester make for why Pearl should be allowed to remain with her mother. He ultimately decides that the mother and child can stay together.

What are some events that occur during the forest scene?

The light runs away from Hester, she takes the A off, pearl wipes off dimmesdales kiss.

What are Chillingworth's thoughts on sin and the confession of sin?

"Man should not die with sin on his conscience; confession will offer him relief in this life and the next."

What type of character is Chillingworth? (static, dynamic, round, flat)

Roger Chillingworth, unlike Hester and Dimmesdale, is a flat character. While he develops from a kind scholar into an obsessed fiend, he is less of a character and more of a symbol doing the devil's bidding.

Does Chillingworth help Dimmesdale or ruin him?

Chillingworth uses his evil to slowly pick at Dimmesdale until he becomes ruined overtime.

Once Chillingworth discovers Dimmesdale's secret, what does he do?

He torments him.

Does Dimmesdale ever try to confess?

- he tells the people that he is a bad sinner

- he is a coward and goes to the scaffold at night

How does Pearl act when Hester removes the "A"?

To Pearl, the letter symbolizes her, so when it is removed she feels that Hester won't love her as much which is why she refused to cross the brook to join with Dimmesdale and her mother. This keeps Pearl from sharing her mother's joy over the removal of the letter.

How does Hester feel about Chillingworth?

"Be it sin or no, I hate the man!" [She hate the baby daddy]

What is Dimmesdale's connection to the scaffold?

The scaffold is an important symbol of the difference between Hester's and Dimmesdale's situations. It helps to establish an ironic contrast between her public torments and his inner anguish. Dimmesdale's meeting with Hester and Pearl atop the scaffold echoes Hester's public shaming seven years earlier. The scaffold transforms Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl from isolated sinners into a united family.

How does Dimmesdale feel about Pearl?

Dimmesdale fears how much Pearl's physical features resemble his own. He has long thought the world would recognize him as her father if he got too close. He also fears that she may not like him.

What action does Dimmesdale make a habit of doing?

Clutching his hand over his heart.

How does Hester spend a lot of her time?

She spends her time in solitude or giving help to those who need it, such as the poor or the governor, whose bedside she sits next to as he dies.

What is Chillingworth's profession in Boston?

Chillingworth is a student of science, not a medical pioneer.

What does Pearl do in the governor's house every time Dimmesdale comes near her?

Pearl responds well to Dimmesdale in the garden. For the first time, Pearl shows love and compassion by approaching Dimmesdale. She stuns bother the reader and Hester by taking Dimmesdale's hand and caressing it upon her cheek. This action of love proves a sense of humanity in Pearl.

What is Dimmesdale's reputation as he grows weaker?

His popularity amoung the congregation grows stronger.

How does Dimmesdale try to purify his body?

Dimmesdale is constantly harming himself because of his sin. He whips himself on a regular basis feeling as if it is only right to punish himself for his sin. He starves himself as well. Every time that he whips or starves himself he grows weaker.

At the beginning of the novel, what is one of Hester's biggest fears?

Chillingworth's evilness

What is Chillingworth's goal?

Chillingworth's goal is to uncover who is the adulterer so that they may be punished for their adultery and their cowardice.

What is the purpose of Election Day?

The purpose of the Election Day celebration is to inaugurate a new man as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

What occurs on Election Day?

Dimmesdale dies in Chapter 23 of The Scarlet Letter. After his Election Day sermon, he ascends the scaffold with Hester and Pearl, followed by Chillingworth, and confesses his guilt before dying.

Who is exempt from the Puritan penal system?

woman guilty of committing adultery.

After Dimmesdale reveals his guilt, where happens to Chillingworth?

Roger Chillingworth, becomes weak and drained after Dimmesdale's death. Now deprived of someone to vent his hatred on, Chillingworth dies shortly after Dimmesdale and leaves a large portion of his estate to Hester Prynne's daughter, Pearl.

Who suffers the most in the novel? (Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, or Hester) Why?

Chillingworth suffers the most because his suffering is unlike any other character. ... show more content... Even before the introduction of his character, Chillingworth was isolated from society, having been alone in England for a year, tidying up his alchemy research.

Roger Chillingworth

The pseudonym assumed by Hester Prynne's aged scholar-husband. He is a symbol of evil, of the "devil's handyman," of one consumed with revenge and devoid of compassion.

Mistress Hibbins

She is a widow who lives with her brother, Governor Bellingham, in a luxurious mansion. She is commonly known to be a witch who ventures into the forest at night to ride with the "Black Man." Her appearances on public occasions remind the reader of the hypocrisy and hidden evil in Puritan society.

Pearl Prynne

The impish, illegitimate child of Hester and Arthur

Governor Bellingham

A wealthy, elderly gentleman who spends much of his time consulting with the other town fathers. Despite his role as governor of a fledgling American society, he very much resembles a traditional English aristocrat. He tends to adhere to the rules strictly, but Dimmesdale's eloquence easily sways him. He remains blind to the misbehaviors taking place in his own house: his sister, Mistress Hibbins, is a witch.

Reverend Dimmesdale

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. He deals with his guilt by tormenting himself physically and psychologically, developing a heart condition. He is intelligent and emotional, and his sermons are thus masterpieces of eloquence and persuasiveness. His commitments to his congregation are in constant conflict with his feelings of sinfulness and need to confess.

Hester Prynne

Hester is the book's protagonist and the wearer of the scarlet letter that gives the book its title. The letter, a patch of fabric in the shape of an "A," signifies that Hester is an "adulterer." As a young woman, Hester married an elderly scholar, Chillingworth, who sent her ahead to America to live but never followed her. While waiting for him, she had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after which she gave birth to Pearl. Hester is passionate but also strong—she endures years of shame and scorn. She equals both her husband and her lover in her intelligence and thoughtfulness. Her alienation puts her in the position to make acute observations about her community, particularly about its treatment of women.

Reverend Wilson

Boston's elder clergyman; preaches hellfire and damnation and advocates harsh punishment of sinners. Views kindness as a weakness.

Reverend Blackstone

A early settler of Boston hated the Puritans so he allied himself with the Indians after the Puritans arrived.

Governor Winthrop

The colony's first governor who died while Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale were on the scaffold.

Apostle Eliot

A Puritan missionary to the American Indians whom some called "the apostle to the Indians". He is referred to as "the Apostle Eliot" whom Dimmesdale has gone to visit at the beginning of Chapter 16, "A Forest Walk".