Chapter 13 Summary
Changes
Hester is shocked by the change she has seen in Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale’s intellect has remained
strong, but his nerve and moral force seem to have been completely destroyed. Hester has also
changed in the 7 years since Pearl’s birth. She has gained a great deal of respect from the townspeople
through her untiring services to the sick, the poor, and the troubled. The letter on her chest seems to
have changed, too. Instead of meaning “Adultery,” many say it now stands for “Able.”
The warmth, charm, and passion which she once possessed appear to have been replaced by coldness,
severity, and drabness. She hides her hair with a cap. She seems to have ceased to become a woman
because of how long she’s been isolated from society. Even though she works with others through her
sewing work, she does so with the air of a lowly servant. Warmth and enthusiasm is only seen in her
work with / education of Pearl. Even so, Pearl’s abnormal nature baffles her and even saddens her.
Sometimes she gets so down, that she wonders if she and Pearl would be better off dead. The fact that
she can contemplate suicide (an unpardonable sin in the Puritan code) indicates that “the scarlet letter
had not done its office.”
Even through her miseries, Hester seems to have found an emotional outlet in Dimmesdale’s misery.
She sees he is on the verge of lunacy, and she feels that her promise to keep Chillingworth’s secret is
largely responsibly. She decides to talk with her former husband at the first opportunity.
Chapter 14 Summary
Pearl plays in the water while Hester talks with Chillingworth. Chillingworth greets her courteously and
relays rumors that they may allow her to take the letter off. Hester says that the letter will fall off by
itself if she were truly worthy.
Hester is surprised by the changes she’s seen in Chillingworth over the past 7 years. He has a fierce,
dark face and an occasional red glare in his eyes that demonstrate his evil purpose that’s been
dominating his life. Hester apologizes for agreeing to keep his secret; she feels she’s partially to blame
because it enabled him to get his clutches on Dimmesdale. He protests and says that he should receive
credit for keeping Dimmesdale alive. Hester says that Dimmesdale might be better off dead, and
Chillingworth admits, with a fierce pride, to his inhuman torture of the minister. He describes what has
taken place by saying, “A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial
torment.” And he suggests that, rather than having paid his debt, Dimmesdale has increased it, by
making of Chillingworth the fiend in which he has become. Hester cries that she is as guilty as
Dimmesdale. She pleads for mercy, asking to be freed from her promise concerning the physician’s
identity.
At this, despite the wide chasm between the two, Chillingworth and Hester share a moment of mutual
pity. The physician says that since the moment of adultery, “it has all been a dark necessity.” Hester is
not really sinful, nor is he fiend-like. It is fate which has created the tragic situation. And as for telling
Dimmesdale his secret, Chillingworth says that Hester may do so as she wishes.
Points of Interest
This chapter fills us in on Chillingworth like Chapter 18 was supposed to do for Hester. (Only, Chapter 18
seems more repetitive than helpful.) This chapter also fills the reader in on the relationship between
Hester and Dimmesdale and the pathos they share. Hester’s misery, as she expresses her responsibility
for Dimmesdale’s suffering and for Chillingworth’s moral deterioration, evokes the physician’s
sympathy. Hawthorne does not let Chillingworth appear as pure evil; he gives the reader a chance to
sympathize with Chillingworth, but it does not excuse the physician from responsibility for his actions.
Chapter 15
Hester feels hatred for Chillingworth, and she feels that in marrying her, he committed a worse sin than
any she has committed against him.
Pearl has been playing games along the seashore, and she made herself a scarf and cap of seaweed and
fashioned a green letter “A” to her chest with eel grass. Pearl does not know why her mother wears the
scarlet letter A, but she says that it’s probably for the same reason the minister keeps his hand over his
heart. Hester is amused at first, but then she becomes “pale” at the implication of her child’s answer.
Pearl continues to deny knowing the meaning of the letter. Hester is tempted to tell her daughter the
truth, but she finds that she cannot answer the questions truthfully. She is so emotionally
overwhelmed, and Pearl continues to insist to know the answer; Hester finally threatens to lock her in a
dark closet unless she quits teasing.
Points of Interest
Hawthorne introduces us to Hester’s inner feelings concerning Chillingworth. Despite feelings of pity in
the previous chapter, she feels intense hatred for him. She blames the unfortunate series of events
leading to her (and Dimmesdale’s) present suffering on an unnatural marriage. One should note that,
although she is going beyond the letter of the law in accepting her punishment, she is not at heart truly
repentant.
Chapter 16
Hester is anxious to catch Dimmesdale and reveal the true identity of Chillingworth, but she does not
wish to go to his apartment. Hester goes with Pearl to the forest to intercept the minister on his return
from meeting with the missionary John Eliot. Only flickering gleams of sunshine break through as they
walk through the dense woods. Pearl suggests that the sunshine is running from Hester b/c of the letter
on her bosom; but she, as a child without any such sign, runs and “catches” a patch of sunlight. As
Hester approaches the sunshine, the light disappears.
Pearl asks Hester to tell her about the “black man.” She heard about the black man from an old woman
telling about this man that haunts the forest, getting people to sign their name with blood in his heavy
iron-bound book, and then putting his mark on their bosoms. The old dame said that the scarlet A is the
Black Man’s mark on Hester. Hester confesses that the mark on the bosom is the black man’s mark.
Hester & Pearl sit by a stream as they wait, and Pearl asks why the stream sounds so sad. Hester says
that if it had a sorrow like she does, Pearl would understand. As Pearl goes to play (when Dimmesdale
approaches), she sings along with the sound of the stream.
Chapter 17
Dimmesdale finally hears Hester calling after him. The two go to sit on a heap of moss as they attempt
to have small talk about the weather and their health.
Dimmesdale finally asks whether Hester has found peace, and she smiles, drearily, at her scarlet letter.
She answers, feabily, then returns the question. He says, “None! –nothing but despair!” He explains the
misery of his ironic position, a minister idolized by his flock but carrying a dark sin concealed in his heart.
Hester gently suggests that his deep repentance and good works have atoned for his sin, and he rejects
her comfort, adding: “Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom!
Mine burns in secret!” He wishes he could speak openly of this sin to anyone, friend or enemy, he might
feel relief and salvation. Hester replies that he has such a friend in her. After this admission, she
continues, “Thou hast long had such an enemy, and dwellest with him, under the same roof!”
Dimmesdale says he cannot forgive her for letting Chillingworth victimize him, but, after much pleading
from her, he finally does forgive her. Then Dimmesdale declares that Chillingworth’s sin