Study Questions for The Scarlet Letter – Chapter 16 to the end
1. Chapters 16 through 19 take place in the woods. Is this the wilderness of the 17th
century or the woodland of the 19th? What is the effect of placing the longest meeting
and conversation between Hester and Dimmesdale here?
2. How do Hester and Dimmesdale respond to each other? Hester feels she must tell
Dimmesdale the truth about Chillingworth. How does he react? What does this say
about her? About him?
3. What does Hester mean when she tells Dimmesdale that “What we did had a
consecration of its own”? Does he believe her?
4. How does Pearl react when she sees Dimmesdale with her mother? How does Pearl’s
return alter the mood between Hester and Dimmesdale? Why does this happen? Is
Hawthorne foreshadowing his ending here?
5. Why does Hawthorne include the chapter “The Minister in a Maze”?
6. The final action of the novel takes place upon the scaffold. Why does Hawthorne
bring his cast of characters back o this spot? What unfolds here? How does the
community react? Does Dimmesdale ever admit the truth?
7. The concluding chapter creates ambiguity about what has occurred. Why does
Hawthorne do this? How do you read the ending?