Mr. Kelly- ​Scarlet Letter Chapters 2-4 Important Quotations
Goal​: ​The ultimate goal in reading this novel is for each of you to​ ​think, write, and speak
critically about how the themes in the text create meaning within the context of the novel.
Chapter 2-The Market-Place: Setting: Main Town Center/Public Square:
THEME:Public Shame
1.”​People say,” said another, “that the Reverend Master Dimmesdale, her godly pastor, takes
it very grievously to heart that such a scandal should have come upon this congregation.”​
a. Who is the speaker?​ The speaker of this quote is an unnamed Puritan woman.
b. What is the situation in the quote? ​The Puritan community is gathered in the town square
in front of the prison, waiting for Hester Prynne to emerge from the prison door. Hester
will then ascend the wooden stairs of the scaffold (a platform high above the crowd
where she is publically shamed each day).
c. How the ​theme of SIN​ is revealed in the quote? ​The Puritan elite preach a strict
interpretation of sin. The townspeople gather in front of the prison ready to publicly
shame Hester Prynne. Ultimately, Hawthorne shows the reader that Hester’s sin has
caused the congregation, and her pastor, Rev. Dimmesdale intense grief.
2. ​“It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy
that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore; and
which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was
allowed by the regulations of the colony.”
a. Who is the speaker? ​The speaker is the narrator.
b. What is the situation in the quote?​ The situation in this quote is Hester Prynne being
judged by the townspeople for committing adultery and shows off the scarlet A on her
chest. It shows her defiance of traditional Puritan values.
c. How the theme of the powerful woman (​Hester as a modern woman)​ drives the meaning
of the quote?​ Hester isn’t ashamed and stands up to the crowd while most women of that
time would be cowardly and follow a corrupted society with no regard for individuality
and expression. The decorative letter also shows that Hester is “beyond” this time; she is
ahead of her time
3. ​“This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die.”
a. Who is the speaker? ​One of the woman townspeople- eager to point a finger at Hesterb. What is the situation in the quote? ​Hester Prynne is being judged by the puritan
townspeople. It reiterates the strict interpretations of religion in the Puritan community.
c. How the​ theme of HYPOCRISY​ is revealed in the quote? ​All the townspeople have no
issue in pointing out Hester’s SIN. But, does not everyone SIN? Hester accepts her SIN
and gets publicly shamed for it; but these people seem to behave as if they have NEVER
SINNED! Blatant hypocrisy-
Chapter 3: The Recognition: Setting: Main Town Center/Public Square:
Theme: Surprise/Anger
1. “​Speak woman, speak and give your child a father.​”
a. Who is the speaker? ​ A cold and stern voice from the crowd
b. What is the situation in the quote? ​Hester is on the scaffold.​ ​The crowd is making Hester
tell them who the man she had a baby with is. They ridicule her; talk behind her back and
look down upon Hesterc. How the ​symbolism of the scaffold ​(where Hester is standing at this time) acts as the
setting for public shame? ​ She’s standing on an elevated “scaffold” high in front of the
crowd. Everyone can “see”her. Hester spends hours “up there” each day with her baby,
Pearl, and is verbally ripped to shreds2. ​“I will not speak, answered Hester, turning pale as death, but responding to this voice,
which she too ​surely recognized​.”
a. Who is the speaker? Hester
b. What is the situation in the quote? ​She is refusing to tell them the name of the man she
had an affair with. Interestingly Hester “surely recognized the voice who demands her to
confess. Guess what, this man who asks her is actually HER REAL HUSBAND who has
been missing in the forest (he is a wealthy man who has sailed from England). He and
Hester are from Englandc. How the theme of (​Hester as a modern woman)​ is manifested in the quote. ​She isn’t
giving into the pressure of the Puritans unlike most women in that time would.
3 “It irks me, nevertheless, that the partner of her ​iniquity (immoral or grossly unfair
behavior) ​should not, at least, stand on the scaffold by her side. But he will be known!—he
will be known!—he will be known!​”
a. Who is the speaker?​ The stranger in the crowd- Roger Chillingworth, her estranged
husbandb. What is the situation in the quote? ​ The Puritan crowd is still trying to figure out who the
man was. They say he should be up there with her. This “man” in the crowd, who is
actually her husband, Roger Chillingworth, will become obsessed with finding out who
the father is. Important to note that NO ONE knows that Chillingworth is her husband-
c. How the ​theme of isolation ​is displayed in the quote. ​Hester is isolated on the stand while
the “father of the child” stays hidden and doesn’t reveal himself. It is ironic because he IS
in the community somewhere.
Chapter 4: The Interview: Setting: Hester in Prison: THEME: Revenge/Sin
1. ​“We have wronged each other,” answered h
​ e.
a. Who is the speaker? ​Her husband- Roger Chillingworth
b. What is the situation in the quote?​He is interviewing her to find out who the father of the
baby is----and why she has been so promiscuous​c. How the ​concept of love​ creates meaning in the quote.​ The man states that the other man
who she had an affair with wronged them and created a rift between them.
2. “Why don’t you just cast me off now?”
a. Who is the speaker? ​Hester- suggesting to her husband that he should divorce her/or
admit to the whole town that they are marriedb. What is the situation in the quote? ​Hester's husband (Roger Chillingworth) is confronting
his wife, Hester, about her adultery. He demands to know the father; she will not tell.
c. How are the ​psychological effects of sin ​illustrated in the quote?​ Chillingworth, in an evil
way, keeps probing Hester as to how/why/when her adultery happened.
3. “​Let him live. Let him hide himself in outward honor, if he may. Not the less he shall be
mine!”
​
a. Who is the speaker? Hester’s husband
b. What is the situation in the quote? ​Hester’s husband is mocking the other man because
he’s staying hidden.
c. How ​Chillingworth’s consuming obsession with revenge​ is evoked in the quote.​ Once her
husband finds out who he is, he says “not the less he shall be mine!” he is threatening the
man. We don’t know if Chillingworth plans to torture, kill, or punish the adulterer-
Chapter 5: Hester at Her Needle: Setting: Main Town Center/Public
Square: Theme: Surprise/Anger