The Scarlet Letter Vocabulary: Chapters 18-20
Chapter 18: A Flood of Sunshine
Citadel: city, walled city
Effluence: something that flows out, the act of flowing out
Subjugated: under the power of another, oppressed
Denizens: inhabitants, people who are frequently at a specific place
Choleric: extremely angry
Adorned: decorated
Chapter 19: A Child at the Brookside
Margin: edge, border
Intangible: untouchable, not real, not graspable
Steadfastly: loyally, strongly, without backing down
Imparted: told, passed on (information)
Imperious: commanding, regal, awe-inspiring
Mollified: lessened the anger of, calmed
Gesticulating: to make gestures, especially when speaking, using one’s hands
Cankerous: harmful, evil
Wrath: anger
Preternatural: unnatural, beyond what is natural
Pallor: lack of color, especially in the face
Tresses: locks or waves of hair
Caprice: whim
Physiognomy: appearance as a clue to one’s inner nature
Chapter 20: The Minister in a Maze
Vicissitude: the state of being changeable, hardship
Duplicity: dishonesty
Vexed: angered
Disquietude: the state of being upset
Irrefragable: impossible to refute, break or alter
Uncouth: badly behaved, rude
Importunate: overly persistent or pushy
mutability: ability to change
intervening: stepping in (to a dispute)
lapse: temporary failure or error
venerable: old and respected
hoary: very old
impiety: irreligiosity
gild: to give an attractive but deceptive appearance, such as a thin cover of gold
valiantly: bravely
potentate: absolute ruler
obeisance: obedience, the state of putting oneself in another’s power
tarry: delay, stop
steed: horse
careening: traveling quickly and unevenly from side to side
Name______________________________
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
Chapter 18: A Flood of Sunshine
1. How do Dimmesdale and Hester deal with their outsider status differently? Is one more comfortable than the
other? What do we learn about them both in this analysis?
2. What might the “burst of sunshine” symbolize? Why does Hester throw off the scarlet letter?
3. What plan for the near future do Hester and Dimmesdale develop?
Chapter 19: A Child at the Brookside
1. How does Hawthorne describe Pearl here? Do you think he intends this as a reference to something
supernatural or psychological? What evidence do you see for either argument?
2. How does Hawthorne describe Hester’s change when she replaces the scarlet A?
3. What is Pearl’s response to Dimmesdale? Why do you think she acts this way?
Chapter 20: The Minister in a Maze
1. What does Dimmesdale notice upon re-entering the town? What specifically does he notice is different
about himself or his thoughts?
2. What does he imagine or think may be the cause of these changes? How does his interaction with Mistress
Hibbins support this?
3. How is Dimmesdale’s response to Chillingworth different now?
The Scarlet Letter Vocabulary: Chapters 21-24
Chapter 21: The New England Holiday
Plebeian: lower class, poor
Quaff: drink
Languor: weariness, inactivity
Lees: literally, the pulp left at the bottom of the barrel or wine bottle
Effervescence: liveliness, exhilaration
Mirthful: joyful, happy
Jocularity: happiness, sense of fun
Interpose: step in between
Posterity: What will follow, especially one’s descendants, what one leaves behind when one dies
Relinquish: hand over, give up
Desperado: outlaw
Berth: bed on a train or boat
Eminent: famous, highly respected
Apothecary: druggist
Chapter 22: The Procession
Ministrations: healing actions (usually of a nurse or doctor)
Cordial: Mixed drink usually including alcohol
Necromancy: contacting the dead, especially to learn the future
Repose: sleep, rest
Erratic: unsteady, unpredictable, changeable
Unscrupulous: dishonest
Chapter 23: The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter
Foreboding: feeling of dread of what’s to come
Apotheosized: elevation to heavenly status
Tremulously: timidly, trembling
Solemnity: seriousness
Chapter 24: Conclusion
Conjectural: suspected but not absolutely proven, deduced from some evidence but not certain
Portent: a sign of what’s to come (like clouds before a storm)
Nugatory: unimportant, not powerful
Escutcheon: the place (often over a door to a house or castle) that displays the family crest or symbol
Name______________________________
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter 21: The New England Holiday
1. What does Pearl say and feel about Dimmesdale, and how does Hester respond to her? Which character’s
view do you think is closer to Hawthorne's?
2. What do we learn about the Puritans from the comparison to the Spanish sailors?
3. What does Hester learn from the mariner, and how does she seem to feel about it? What might the author be
suggesting based on her discovery?
Chapter 22: The Procession
1. How does Dimmesdale appear to Hester? How does she feel about this?
2. What does the townswoman say to Hester? What does she reveal about herself?
3. How does Hester experience the sermon?
4. What does Hester learn from the mariner? How do these sailors and surrounding Indians perceive Hester?
Chapter 23: The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter
1. How are the situations of Hester and Dimmesdale contrasted after the sermon?
2. What does Dimmesdale do? How does Chillingworth get involved?
3. How is Pearl’s response to Dimmesdale different, and why?
Chapter 24: Conclusion
1. What theories are presented about the origin of what “spectators testified” to as a disfiguration on the
minister’s breast?
2. What happens to Chillingworth, and, according to the narrator, why?
3. What happens to Hester and Pearl?