The Scarlet Letter
Chapters 9 and 10
By: Christopher Hagist
Summary
Chapter 9: After arriving at Boston and finding his wife in utter disgrace upon the pillory, Chillingworth chooses to stay and live
in the city. His intelligence and skill as a physician make him quite popular. Dimmesdale's poor health and Chillingworth's
interest in the young man combine to make many of the church officials try to get them to live together. Dimmesdale declines at
first, saying he needs no medicine. However, Dimsdale starts to frequently put his hand over his heart in pain, and he agrees to
meet with Chillingworth. The meeting immediately leads to the two men moving in together. The townspeople are for the most
part thrilled with the way the relationship between the two men is working out. However, a few townspeople soon become more
suspicious of Chillingworth’s true motives. They sense that Chillingworth has undergone a profound change since arriving in
Boston, going from an innocent old man to an ugly and evil person. They thought that he was either haunted by satan himself or
Satan’s emissary.
Chapter 10: Chillingworth realizes that Dimmesdale is hiding some dark secret, so he spends a great deal of time and energy to
make Dimmesdale reveal what is troubling him. Dimmesdale fails to realize that Chillingworth is in fact his enemy.
Chillingworth engages the minister in a conversation about why men keep secrets in their hearts rather than revealing them
immediately. Dimmesdale struggles to avoid directly answering the questions Chillingworth poses. The two men are interrupted
by Pearl and Hester walking through the cemetery outside. Pearl is jumping from gravestone to gravestone, and she finally starts
dancing upon a large, flat stone. When Hester tries to make her stop, she takes several burrs and arranges them on the scarlet
letter, to which they stick. Chillingworth observes that Pearl disregards all human ordinances and opinions. Dimmesdale then
remarks that Pearl embodies "the freedom of a broken law." When Pearl sees the two men, she hurls one of her burrs at
Dimmesdale, who recoils in fear. Pearl then shouts to her mother that they should leave, or the "Black Man" who has already
gotten hold of Dimmesdale will catch them. Chillingworth then tells Dimmesdale that as his physician he cannot cure him—his
ailment sees to come from his spiritual side. Chillingworth demands to be told what sort of secret Dimmesdale is hiding.
Dimsdale gets angry and storms out of the room. Soon after, Dimmesdale falls asleep while reading, and Chillingworth places
his hand over Dimmesdale's heart and then leaves before the minister can awaken. For some reason he becomes incredibly happy
and amazed after having felt Dimmesdale's heart.
Themes
• Science and Spirituality:
Though both of these systems offer resources to
restore a person’s well-being, neither seems to
cure Dimmesdale’ssicknes. Like Chillingworth’s
deformed shoulders, Dimmesdale’s illness is an
outward manifestation of an inward condition,
and neither medicine nor religion suffices to cure
it.
Symbols
• Dimmsdale is a symbol of piety and goodness.
As a minister, the community looks up to him as
a person who does the right thing and isn’t evil.
• The conflict between Dimmsdale and
Chillingworth is also a symbol of good vs evil.
Dimmsdale is the good person against
Chillingworth, who has evil motives driving him.
Character Development
• Over the course of these chapters, Chillingworth
starts to be seen as a more evil person, instead of
the good innocent doctor he first appeared to be.
• Dimmsdale doesn’t realize Chillingworth is his
enemy, but begins to get frustrated with his
constant questioning of his secrets.
Literary Devices
• Foreshadow: At the end of chapter 10,
Chillingsworth discovers something about
Dimmsdale when he after putting his hand on
the minister’s chest. It is foreshadowed that this
is important due to how happy and amazed he
was.
• Irony: Dimmsdale is so terrified of the
townspeople discovering his secret that he
overlooks the fact that his biggest enemy is living
with him.
Activity
• Write about or draw a picture of what you
believe Chillingworth saw on Dimmsdale’s chest
at the end of chapter 10.
Quiz
1. Why does Chillingworth become popular in the
town?
2. What reason does Chillingworth give to the
townspeople for wanting to live with Dimmsdale?
3. What does Dimmsdale fail to realize about
Chillingworth when he comes to live with him?
4. What does Pearl do when Hester tries to make her
stop dancing on the flat stone in the cemetery?
5. Why does Dimmsdale become agitated and storm
out of the room?