Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter Summarized by Zach Kozak
Chapter 3 Worksheet
As Hester stood on the scaffold, she noticed a figure on the outskirts of
the crowd, and she recognized him.
The figure was a white man, with a physical deformity, dressed in
Indian clothes. He asked who the person on the scaffold was and what she
had done. He quickly learned the condition of the situation. (The man was
Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband. He yelled out and said that he
thought it was good that Hester should have to wear a scarlet A as a symbol
of her sin, but also thought that her fellow sinner should be named so he
could get an equal punishment.)
Soon Hester was addressed by John Wilson (a reverend) who stood on
the balcony above her. Eventually he had the Reverend Dimmesdale try to
persuade her to confess the name of her fellow sinner.
After Dimmesdale gave a lengthy and almost pleading speech of the
benefits of announcing the name, Hester declared she would never reveal it.
(This is an example of irony because Dimmesdale was the man with whom
Hester had the affair.) She was then escorted back to the prison to serve the
remainder of her sentence.
1. Who do you think the man with the deformity might be?
2. What is the irony of asking Reverend Dimmesdale to be the one to
persuade Hester to confess the name of her fellow sinner?
3. Was Dimmesdale successful in getting Hester to confess the name of
her fellow sinner?
4. The stranger with the deformity was glad to see Hester living in shame.
Why do you think this is?