Chapters 4-5
Who is the physician that calms Hester and her baby? Does he blame himself in any way for the situation? Explain.
What secret does he ask Hester to keep? Why?
What name does he assume? To what will he devote himself from this moment on?
Where does Hester settle? Is she required to remain in the New World? How does she make her living?
One of Hawthorne’s themes is isolation of a person from society. What are the effects of this isolation on Hester?
What is the new sense the scarlet letter gives Hester? Explain the “sympathetic throb” that Hester feels as she meets certain
people. What is the cause of this awareness?
Explain the significance of each quote.
Chapter 4

Here, woman! The child is yours,—she is none of mine,—neither will she recognize my voice or aspect as a father’s.
Administer this draught, therefore, with thine own hand.”

—“thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any.”
“I have greatly wronged thee,” murmured Hester.
“We have wronged each other,” answered he.

“Thou hast kept the secret of thy paramour. Keep, likewise, mine! There are none in this land that know me. Breathe
not, to any human soul, that thou didst ever call me husband! Here, on this wild outskirt of the earth, I shall pitch my
tent; for, elsewhere a wanderer, and isolated from human interests, I find here a woman, a man, a child, amongst whom
and myself there exist the closest ligaments. No matter whether of love or hate; no matter whether of right or wrong!
Thou and thine, Hester Prynne, belong to me. My home is where thou art, and where he is. But betray me not!”
Chapter 5

…giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point,
and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman’s frailty and sinful passion.

Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment…

But it is not recorded that, in a single instance, her skill was called in aid to embroider the white veil which was to
cover the pure blushes of a bride.

In all her intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Chapters 4-5
Who is the physician that calms Hester and her baby? Does he blame himself in any way for the situation? Explain.
What secret does he ask Hester to keep? Why?
What name does he assume? To what will he devote himself from this moment on?
Where does Hester settle? Is she required to remain in the New World? How does she make her living?
One of Hawthorne’s themes is isolation of a person from society. What are the effects of this isolation on Hester?
What is the new sense the scarlet letter gives Hester? Explain the “sympathetic throb” that Hester feels as she meets certain
people. What is the cause of this awareness?
Explain the significance of each quote.
Chapter 4

Here, woman! The child is yours,—she is none of mine,—neither will she recognize my voice or aspect as a father’s.
Administer this draught, therefore, with thine own hand.”

—“thou knowest that I was frank with thee. I felt no love, nor feigned any.”
“I have greatly wronged thee,” murmured Hester.
“We have wronged each other,” answered he.

“Thou hast kept the secret of thy paramour. Keep, likewise, mine! There are none in this land that know me. Breathe
not, to any human soul, that thou didst ever call me husband! Here, on this wild outskirt of the earth, I shall pitch my
tent; for, elsewhere a wanderer, and isolated from human interests, I find here a woman, a man, a child, amongst whom
and myself there exist the closest ligaments. No matter whether of love or hate; no matter whether of right or wrong!
Thou and thine, Hester Prynne, belong to me. My home is where thou art, and where he is. But betray me not!”
Chapter 5

…giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point,
and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman’s frailty and sinful passion.

Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment…

But it is not recorded that, in a single instance, her skill was called in aid to embroider the white veil which was to
cover the pure blushes of a bride.

In all her intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.