The Story (Chapter Outline)
Chapter 13

All about Hester and how she’s changed

The 1st part of the chapter bridges over to Hester: She notices that Chillingworth has been
bearing down on Dimmesdale and tormenting him. Hester feels linked to Dimmesdale and feels
responsible for his condition.
-Dimmesdale = frozen and caught in the Puritan system
-Hester = free to act as she wants
 2 views of Hester:
1) Outside view (How society perceives her): she’s totally conformed
-Society believes that she’s become virtuous like them
-She seems to live a life that’s blameless; she submits
-The A became known to mean “Able” because of her strength
-When greeted in the street, Hester wouldn’t respond  they interpreted this as
humility, but it may have been due to pride
-The public is like a despot = if demands are too much, it’ll repress; but if
demands are just right, it’ll reward
-Society was kinder to her (due to their belief that she’s conformed like them) than she
cared or deserved
**Clue: She doesn’t want their approval and is undeserving of their approval
because she has not really changed
-Connection to rosebush: she appears to be wilting and losing her passion
-She’s a shadow of her former self
-Her hair isn’t rich and luxuriant, and her face is cold like marble
2) Inside view (What she really thinks): she’s radical
-She’s focused on intellectual thought over emotions:
-She’s more contemplative, speculative, and thoughtful.
-She’s no longer bound by Puritan laws.
-This was an age of revolution of thought: new ideas are coming into the world from
Europe and are affecting politics, social classes, economics, philosophy, etc.
*The Puritans would have seen these ideas as worse than committing adultery
**Hester expands her world view and is unconnected and untethered  she has
freedom of thought
*She has no restrictions, no boundaries
***People with the most radical thoughts can appear to be the most conformed
Hester starts thinking about the role of women
-She thinks of a 3-step process for equality:
1) Tear down the existing social structure



2) Change the men: change the very essence of what they’re like
3) Change the women: must go through a stronger change
*She’s calling for equality of men and women, a complete change of Puritan
society, which is hierarchical and patriarchal
***She’s a woman of the 19th century: she is out of place and time
Hawthorne is telling this to his 19th century audience at a time of issues
of women’s rights.
For someone like Hester whose suppresses all passion, this passion can come back at any moment
**Clue that something will trigger Hester’s passion and she’ll return to her former self**
“The scarlet letter had not done its office”
-It’s job was to punish her and make her conform
-But instead, it liberated her: it’s given her the power to act on her own ideas, free from Puritan
thought.
She takes it upon herself to confront Chillingworth
-Hester is the courageous, assertive, aggressive one who is empowered by the A
-Dimmesdale is the weak, cowardly wimp who has been destroyed by his guilt
Chapter 14







All about Hester and Chillingworth’s confrontation
Pearl sees her playful and innocent reflection  contrasts when Chillingworth sees his true self
The council has been discussing taking off the “A”
- Chillingworth says he’s on her side, but he’s being specious (=fake)
- She says that the magistrates don’t have the authority to decide this. For them to be
meddling in this is out of line.
 This raises questions about who has the power??  certainly not the magistrates.
***Individuals decide on issues of morality, not civil leaders
-Hester is a rebel: she believes she’s free to make her own decisions
Chillingworth has transformed himself into a “devil”
- He probes into Dimmesdale and makes him suffer
- Hester feels responsible for: (1) Dimmesdale’s suffering (2) The change in Chillingworth
Hester tells Chillingworth that she has kept his secret, but betrayed Dimmesdale in the process.
- She feels loyal to Dimmesdale, not her husband  the law doesn’t decide where your
loyalties lie- your feelings do.
- Chillingworth says she didn’t have a choice. He’s trying to make her feel better so he can
continue to torture Dimmesdale.
Chillingworth says that Dimmesdale is indebted to him.
- He can never repay him for all his care; He’s kept him alive and done all this good for him.
- However, his motives have been evil— to torture and punish
Chillingworth sees himself for what he truly is
- He believes that Dimmesdale owes him even more because he’s sacrificed his good
character to help him  It has corrupted and deformed him.

- Before, he was just a nice scholar who liked books. He wasn’t cruel.
- Hester blames herself for his transformation.
She tells him that it is now up to him whether or not to reveal himself to Dimmesdale.
- Chillingworth says that her good character is wasted.
- Hester responds by saying that everyone is miserable and doomed to an unhappy ending
except for him. He has the power to forgive and move on with his life. She tells him to let
go of his anger and revenge and let God punish him.
- She can think independently – she believes that individuals have the power to change their
own lives.
Chapters 15 and 16
Chapter 15:






As Hester watches Chillingworth walk away, she is aghast at how evil and ugly he looks.
- He’s hideous and his beard drags down to the grass
- He’s so poisonous he could kill the grass
She hates Chillingworth.
 At first, she feels guilty about hating him.
- He tricked her into marrying him and believing she was happy. She didn’t know any
better because she was young and naive and he took advantage of that. She now
sees that her life with him was lonely and dull.
- He would focus on his studies and ignore her.
 She has a change in mind: her crime isn’t as bad as his against her.
- DIFFERENT VIEW OF SIN: her sin came about from circumstances
- She’s free of the Puritan mentality that sinners are simply evil and their sin came
about from their evilness.
Pearl represents sympathy and expression of emotion.
- She feels bad about throwing the pebbles and hurting the birds
- She’s just as wild as nature
Pearl is totally free of the Puritan mentality which allows her to see clearly.
- She can see a connection between Hester and Dimmesdale while the community can’t.
- She puts on a green “A” made of grass – her A is without sin or severity (It’s innocent and is
without everything that the Puritan society has forced upon Hester)
- **She sees the A for what it is, not for all the symbolism that society has cast upon it**
Pearl continually asks:
I.
What does the scarlet letter mean? (3x)
II.
Why do you wear it? (2x)
III.
Why does the minister keep his hand over his heart? (3x)
As Hester reflects on Pearl’s questions, she thinks that maybe the time has come for Pearl to be
trusted with Hester’s sorrows. Maybe Pearl would understand Hester’s situation if she’s ready.
- Pearl’s emotions are compared to an April breeze  fickle and changing
Chapter 16








Chapter 16 prepares us for the meeting we’ve been waiting for
Hester’s purpose is to inform Dimmesdale about Chillingworth’s identity
She picks the forest:
- It’s private and away from the community, so they can be open.
- She is concerned for his reputation and well-being  she loves him
- In the forest, there is no danger to his “holy whiteness”
-whiteness = innocence and purity (public view of him)
-IRONY: it’s the opposite of the Black Man (who Pearl wonders if they’re meeting)
“The primeval forest:”
- Opposite of civilization  CONTRAST to the Puritan community
- It reminds Hester of her “moral wilderness” – her thoughts have been wandering to new
radical ideas
The sunshine runs away from Hester
Pearl asks if the A is a mark from the Black Man
- She heard an old lady say that it was his mark from when they met. The old lady said
Mistress Hibbins also had his mark.
The brook is personified and foreshadows the upcoming sorrow.
- Pearl hears the brook sadly mumbling.
- Unlike the brook, Pearl is unaffected by the sad life she’s been exposed to.
- The brook may be prophesizing something sad that is going to happen.
Hester sees Dimmesdale and he exhibits no visible signs of positive and vivacious suffering,
except for his hand over his heart.
- On the outside, he does not appear to be suffering.
- Does he like his life when he’s in his own privacy?
- He may not be suffering as badly while in the woods by himself.
Light
Forest
-
-
-
-
Supposed to symbolize: openness, honesty,
goodness. Its source is heaven or hell.
However, IRONICALLY, the marketplace is
open in broad daylight, but it is oppressive
and is a place where you conceal
everything. In the marketplace, everyone
suppresses the truth.
Represents law and order and conformity
For civilization to be built, wildness must
be suppressed. The Puritans however, have
gone to the extreme.
-
-
-
Supposed to symbolize evil – it’s where
private matters of the heart are shared
Symbolizes isolation, wildness, solitude
IRONICALLY, it is the place where you can
be totally honest and the most open
because the heart can disclose its secrets.
Represents lawlessness
Puritans are afraid of it and afraid of the
Black man. The lovers’ meeting is outside of
what’s acceptable. But it’s where they can
meet openly and honestly.
Affairs of the heart are outlawed because
they’re controllable, wild, and evil.
Chapters 17 and 18


All about Hester and Dimmesdale’s meeting in the woods.
These chapters are a confirmation of who Hester and Dimmesdale are and reveal the gap
between their 2 philosophies.
Chapter 17








She calls him “Arthur Dimmesdale” – she’s previously called him Mr. Dimmesdale which
emphasizes that it’s a patriarchal society
At the beginning, there are moments of awkwardness. Then they start talking about issues of
the heart.
- At first, they are barely even talking – small talk about the weather
- Then Dimmesdale asks Hester if she found peace. She doesn’t answer – she’s lonely but
she’s free.
Hester is strong, in control, and has her own ideas.
Dimmesdale is conflicted:
- He tells Hester that he’s miserable because he’s living a double life and is a hypocrite
- He sees himself as a sinner and is not even convinced he’s doing any good – it’s all a
delusion.
He’s caught in the Puritan worldview.
- Hester tries to console him by saying that everyone reveres him and his actions should
redeem him.
- Dimmesdale: how can I lead people to redemption when I have a polluted soul? I wish they
would scorn me so I wouldn’t feel so guilty.
- Dimmesdale “Of penance, I had enough! Of penitence there has been none!”
-You do penance to express your penitence (=your sorrow). He’s done enough penance
(starving himself, whipping himself., etc.) but he’s not sorry(penitence).
Hester tells Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is her husband and has been an enemy this whole
time. She feels terrible. Dimmesdale gets really mad at her.
- He said his heart warned him, but he ignored it. He then blames all his suffering on her. He
says that he can’t forgive her. Hester demands that he forgives her – she can’t handle this.
He forgives her and says that their sin isn’t the worst: Chillingworth is worse than him
**Dimmesdale is suggesting that there is a hierarchy of sin**
-This is opposite to the Puritans: they treated all sins with the same great
severity
*Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin was out of love and passion, but Chillingworth’s was out
of malice. He was motivated by destroying specific people.
- Hester takes it to the next step and says what they did was holy and sacred  He says
“Hush Hester!”
Dimmesdale is worried about being found out  he’s still concerned with his reputation. He
asks Hester for advice, and she tells him that God will be merciful if he can handle this.
Hester tries to show him that the Puritan world is very narrow, and he is free to go outside of it.
Chapter 18

HESTER:
-


Can think freely: has a mind of “native courage and activity”
Her thoughts = a “moral wilderness”
The forest represents Hester’s free range of thought.
The Puritans couldn’t impose their restrictions on her because she was ostracized
She does not care about or respect the Puritan traditions
Her circumstances – the scarlet letter – set her free from the bonds of Puritan society
and gave her strength.
DIMMESDALE:
- Dimmesdale has not had the opportunity to roam freely  he’s always in the confines
of the Puritan society
- His job as a clergyman and his high position and reputation in society has bound him
even further to Puritan society
- He’s never experienced what Hester has experienced.
Can you ever deny your past? Or will it always be with you?
-

(At this point) For Hester, she believes that you can get rid of your past, and she throws
off the A and lets her hair down.
Nature:
-
Approves of the 2 lovers
Not bound by laws  it’s wild and heathen
But can’t have a conscious  It’s reckless and has no boundaries
Pearl is totally at home in nature.
Chapters 19 and 20
Chapter 19






Hester calls Pearl over to meet Dimmesdale. He's nervous about meeting her because kids don't
like him. At first, Dimmesdale was afraid that Pearl looks like him, but he’s relieved that she
looks like Hester.
Hester’s rejection of the A = rejection of Pearl
- By rejecting her past, she’s trying to erase what’s happened. Pearl is a part of that past
 she is a direct result of their sin.
- ***Hawthorne is saying that you can never erase the past, you have to deal with it!
Pearl won’t come over because she doesn’t recognize Hester without the A.
- Pearl keeps throwing fits.
- Hester ends up putting it back on  foreshadows that she can’t get rid of it.
Pearl asks if Dimmesdale will go back into town with them, hand in hand.
Pearl shows no favor to Dimmesdale because she knows that he’s a liar and a hypocrite.
- He kisses her and she washes it off – it doesn’t mean anything to her.
The brook is still sad at the end of the chapter.
***This implies that the events that just took place are just as sad as before. It
foreshadows that nothing is going to change.
Chapter 20







Hester and Dimmesdale plan to leave for England in 4 days
- This is right after he gives his Election Sermon at the mayor’s inauguration
- This was the biggest event of the year and he had been picked to give the sermon
- He’s glad he gets to leave while on the top of his game  He STILL cares.
**Gives us a clue that he’s not totally free of the Puritan mentality like Hester.
The Puritan world looks different to Dimmesdale
- The town hasn’t changed  Dimmesdale has.
- He had a change of consciousness and acquired knowledge by talking to Hester. He’s
now a different, changed man.
- He’s been rejuvenated and has a new energy.
He runs into many people:
1) Old deacon – he wants to make radical commentary on religion to him
2) Old woman
3) Young girl who has a crush on him
4) Puritan kids
5) Mistress Hibbins – can see the change in him and laughs because she can see what
he’s done.
-She’s wise and can see his truth (opposite of the sexton who found the glove)
He believes that he is polluting and tainting them
- He doesn’t want to corrupt others with his radical ideas  he sees his new ideas as bad
and wrong. He is not thinking like Hester.
- Foreshadows that his decision to leave with Hester might not be the right one for him.
Dimmesdale can recognize the imperfections of humanity.
Chillingworth comes in and tries to give him medicine, but he says that he doesn’t need them
anymore.
- This is Dimmesdale’s clue that he knows exactly what is going on
Dimmesdale then writes a new Election Sermon
Chapters 21 and 22


Looks like the beginning of the story
- Similar language
- Same characters in the same positions: Puritans gathered again, Chillingworth retreated
in back, Indians are present, Hester is by the scaffold, Dimmesdale is looking down on
the crowd
- Suggests that maybe things haven’t changed. Hester has changed, but the community
hasn’t, and they might be too powerful to beat.
IRONY: In the marketplace, everything should be out in the open. However, Chillingworth,
Hester, and Dimmesdale all hide their true intentions!
-
Pearl is the only one who is true.
Chapter 21

The theme of private world vs. public world is expressed through Hester’s character.
-

Pearl symbolically expresses Hester’s emotions and acts out what Hester feels inside
-

She’s hyper, excited, nervous, restless, anxious
She flits from place to place like a little bird
The beadle smiles at her because he remembers her from 7 years ago  suggests that
nothing has changed
Pearl can see right through Dimmesdale and sees his inconsistencies
-

On the OUTSIDE: She blends in and is conformed. She’s stone-faced like a statue.
On the INSIDE: this marble look is her mask. She is excited that she’s leaving.
In the dark night, he talks and stands with them, but he ignores them in public.
Hester responds by telling her to stay quiet and not say anything to him
The first Puritans were not that gray and grim
-


They still had holidays like England, but way more toned down and not as radical
This lively spirit and fun gets diluted every generation
They get stricter and stricter in policing everyone’s behavior.
Two men were going to fence, but the beadle stops them, which emphasizes that
Puritans keeps you within their boundaries
- *It also suggests that it’s human nature to find ways to express emotions, even in a
society which tries so hard to squash them.
The Indians and the sailors stand apart from the crowd.
The captain tells Hester that Chillingworth is coming as well, which worries her even more.
- Chillingworth smiles evilly at her.
Chapter 22

All about the display of Puritan power
-

The procession:
-
-

They are totally in control
Showing off their power
This suggests that it might be too hard for Hester and Dimmesdale to fight them
The military  civic leaders  “the divine” or the priest (=Dimmesdale)
Civic leaders have lots of dignity and pomp and circumstance that they brought over
from the Old World.
*IRONY: they came to the New World to escape the Old, but they just recreated
it
“The Divine” or the priests are often more intellectual than the political leaders. The
community revered priests more, so ambitious people became clergy.
*Suggests that Dimmesdale is an intellectual and ambitious
Dimmesdale seems to be in good health and is driven by a spiritual energy.
-
This spiritual energy may result from heavenly inspiration, hell-beings, or the loud music

Hester is worried and anxious because Dimmesdale seems remote and distant.
-



He’s totally out of it and his mind is somewhere else
He totally ignores her and is thriving in this Puritan world.
Her mind travels back to the forest to try to reassure herself that it actually happened.
She doesn’t know him anymore, thinks she had deluded herself, and doubts whether or
not their passion ever existed.
She can never forgive him for this.
She can’t find a connection with him – he’s removed himself.
Pearl is still nervous, anxious, uneasy, and restless. She is acting out what Hester feels.
“We must not always talk in the market-place of what happens to us in the forest.”
- Hester says this to Pearl
- Things of the heart are never revealed in the market place.
Mistress Hibbins represents the Puritan notion that any disclosure and affairs of the
heart are deemed evil in the Puritan system.
- She tries to get Hester to talk, and Hester plays dumb.
- At first, she thinks Mistress Hibbins is crazy, but then she’s startled that she can see the
evil connection between people.
Mistress Hibbins says that at some point, Dimmesdale’s secret will be revealed.

The tone of the sermon carries its meaning.
- It was like music – it breathed passion and emotions
- If you really listened, you could hear the pain and sorrow and melancholy
- It seems to appeal to the hearts of others
- Hester can’t make out the words, but that doesn’t matter  implies that music
transcends language



The captain asks Pearl to tell Hester that Chillingworth will escort Dimmesdale, so she
doesn’t have to worry.
- It doesn’t matter if they escape  Chillingworth will continue to torture them
Hester is right back to where she was 7 years ago.
- She is the object of everyone’s stares and condemnation.
- Everyone is gathered around and is staring at her.
- The townsfolk are the worst.
CONTRAST: Dimmesdale vs. Hester
- Hester seems to be fixed in her ignomy forever
- Dimmesdale is looking down on her and is “sainted” and pure
- Who would’ve thought they shared the same sin?
Chapter 23

All about Dimmesdale’s Confession and the 3rd scaffold scene
- In the 1st: the magistrates are in control. They are looking down on Hester, dictating her
future.


- In the 2nd: the Puritans are still in control. Dimmesdale can’t break free and confess.
The subject of Dimmesdale’s speech = the Puritan’s special relationship with God
- Reflects the idea of the “city on a hill” of the first generation of Puritans
- They’re the “chosen” people of God
In the 3rd scaffold scene, Dimmesdale is in control
-




The Puritan magistrates display their extravagant power again
Dimmesdale shouts, shifting the attention and the power to him
Wilson tries to offer him his hand, but he rejects him – parallels when the beadle tries to
help Hester  Dimmesdale must do this by himself and doesn’t want any help
Dimmesdale felt “TRIUMPHANT”
1) He’s glad to find the courage to confess and get rid of his guilt
2) He can confess and doesn’t have to deal with the consequences because he’s
leaving and is also dying
3) He has triumphed over Chillingworth
4) He has beaten the strict Puritan system of thought
Chillingworth tries to stop Dimmesdale because otherwise he will have no purpose in life
Hester has mixed feelings – she wanted to leave and start a new life with him
- He rejects what she proposed because it’s not what’s best for him
- He says that God’s will commanded this
- He thinks that this is better than starting a new life by running away
Dimmesdale says that God is merciful and will forgive!!
**THIS IS A HUGE CHANGE IN MENTALITY FOR HIM**
-




Puritans believed in a God of vengeance that punishes, and sinners are sinners for life
However, Dimmesdale breaks this and says that everyone can sin and make mistakes
God can forgive Chillingworth too
Pyrrhic victory: winning at a very high cost
- Dimmesdale escapes the Puritan mentality but at the cost of his life.
Pearl kisses him on the cheek and the spell was broken.
- Pearl fulfilled her role as a messenger of anguish and got them to be true. Now
everything is solved for her, and she can be a little girl.
Dimmesdale says that all of his suffering has brought him to this point where he can confess.
Then he dies.
Chapter 24


Hawthorne comments on the incapability of a large, conformed group to change its
mindset and twist reality to confirm their belief-system.
Did Dimmesdale have an A??
YES
1. Due to self-torture
2. Chillingworth poisoned it on him
3. Due to remorse
NO
-
-



Those in high power positions were in denial and denied that there was any connection
between Hester and Dimmesdale
They said that he was trying to teach a lesson and a parable about the futility of
perfection and righteousness. His whole life has been to teach us the lesson that we’re
all sinners and to think we’re good is an illusion.
**This is totally CONTRARY to what Dimmesdale says!! He exclaims that God is merciful
and everyone can be forgiven of their sins
IRONY: They’re shaping what he said into the typical Puritan ideas. They never want
to see the truth because it’s contrary to their pre-conceived notions.
Attitude of the narrator: this is an example of how far people go to deny the truth or
protect his character. They go out of their way to reject the facts and fit it into their own
worldview.
Message/truth of the story:
- Be true, open, honest, and genuine.
- Don’t try to hide your imperfections
- Show something that reveals your worst trait
- We all have the capacity to sin, but it doesn’t mean we’re bad
Love and hate are similar:
- Both based on passion and intimacy
- They’re both dependent on another person, and need someone to be the object of their
emotions


Chillingworth shriveled up and died because he lost his reason to live
Pearl inherited lots from Chillingworth and became the richest heiress of her day.
- She never came back to Boston and probably got married to a gentleman in New
England from the upper class.
She loves her mom: sends back luxuries and gifts

Hester comes back to Boston
- She wears the A willingly
- She feels connected to the place where all of her history took place and where she
committed her sin
She sews outfits for Pearl
She counsels women in issues of love

Hester slowly changes the community.
-
They forget what the A stands for and they come to respect her and see her in awe,
instead of scorning her and seeing her in contempt.
This change is gradual (not sudden like Dimmesdale) and more long-lasting and
effective

Even in death, the community dictates how they’re supposed to be – doesn’t even allow them
to be completely together, but makes them share the shame of the A