Quotes

The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide
Quotes
Revenge Quotes
Quote: "Yea, woman, thou sayest truly!" cried old Roger Chillingworth, letting the lurid fire of his heart blaze out before her eyes. "Better had he died at once! Never did mortal suffer what this man has suffered. And all, all, in the sight of his worst enemy! He has been conscious of me. He has felt an influence dwelling always upon him like a curse. He knew, by some spiritual sense,for the Creator never made another being so sensitive as this,he knew that no friendly hand was pulling at his heart-strings, and that an eye was looking curiously into him, which sought only evil, and found it. But he knew not that the eye and hand were mine! With the superstition common to his brotherhood, he fancied himself given over to a fiend, to be tortured with frightful dreams, and desperate thoughts, the sting of remorse, and despair of pardon; as a foretaste of what awaits him beyond the grave. But it was the constant shadow of my presence!the closest propinquity of the man whom he had most vilely wronged!--and who had grown to exist only by this perpetual poison of the direst revenge! Yea, indeed!he did not err!there was a fiend at his elbow! A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial torment!" (4.18) Thought: Roger Chillingworth tells Hester that it would have been better for the minister to have died rather than face the kind of evil scrutiny he has made him endure for these many years. Quote: The intellect of Roger Chillingworth had now a sufficiently plain path before it. It was not, indeed, precisely that which he had laid out for himself to tread. Calm, gentle, passionless, as he appeared, there was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy. (11.1) Thought: What does the narrator mean here when he says that Chillingworths plan to expose Dimmesdale "was not, indeed, precisely that which he had laid out for himself to tread?" This sentence makes us think that Chillingworth may initially have had another plan altogether, one that didnt involve ruining Dimmesdales life. Or perhaps Chillingworth didnt even have a plan to begin with. If this is the case, how and why does Chillingworth end up inflicting the
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psychological trauma that he does? Quote: Certainly, if the meteor kindled up the sky, and disclosed the earth, with an awfulness that admonished Hester Prynne and the clergyman of the day of judgment, then might Roger Chillingworth have passed with them for the arch-fiend, standing there, with a smile and scowl, to claim his own. So vivid was the expression, or so intense the minister's perception of it, that it seemed still to remain painted on the darkness, after the meteor had vanished, with an effect as if the street and all things else were at once annihilated. (12.34) Thought: Chillingworth (who is chilling in the darkness, hehe) has a look on his face so disturbing and malevolent that it burns into the darkness. Its kind of like when you accidentally stare directly into a lit light bulb, resulting in your seeing miniature light bulbs and points of light over the course of the next five minutes. The description of Chillingworths gaze here makes him appear less human to us. The fact that the narrator likens him to an "arch-fiend" doesnt hurt, either. Chillingworth is a chilly man. Quote: "What choice had you?" asked Roger Chillingworth. "My finger, pointed at this man, would have hurled him from his pulpit into a dungeon, thence, peradventure, to the gallows!" (14.14) Thought: Chillingworth is a master manipulator. He convinces Hester that her lover will die if she ever tells him that Chillingworth is her husband. If you were in Hesters place, would you have kept quiet about the doctors identity, as she does? Here, Chillingworth also reminds us of how easy it was back then to get someone thrown in the clink based merely on hearsay or on a single accusation. Quote: "What evil have I done the man?" asked Roger Chillingworth again. "I tell thee, Hester Prynne, the richest fee that ever physician earned from monarch could not have bought such care as I have wasted on this miserable priest! But for my aid, his life would have burned away in torments, within the first two years after the perpetration of his crime and thine. For, Hester, his spirit lacked the strength that could have borne up, as thine has, beneath a burden like thy scarlet letter. O, I could reveal a goodly secret! But enough! What art can do, I have exhausted on him. That he now breathes, and creeps about on earth, is owing all to me!" (14.16)
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Thought: Chillingworth makes an interesting point about the difference between Hester and Dimmesdale. Whereas Hester has to deal daily with the mockery and isolation that her scarlet letter brings her, Dimmesdale has to deal daily with his own guilt and self-imposed punishments. Hester can handle her punishment, while Dimmesdale cannot physically or mentally bear his. Hester is strong, Dimmesdale is weak. Later on we discover that Dimmesdale embraces his silent suffering because he feels like he is working off his crime of sleeping with Hester. If we follow this logic, Chillingworth (who, whether we like it or not, does try to heal Dimmesdale physically) actually aids Dimmesdale. If Dimmesdale had not had a doctors care, he might not have lived so long and endured such a long (undercover) punishment. Do you believe Chilly when he tells Hester that he has given Dimmesdale the best of care? Quote: "I have left thee to the scarlet letter," replied Roger Chillingworth. "If that have not avenged me, I can do no more!" (14.25). Thought: We think Chillingworths relationship to Hester is very interesting. If he really is the fiend-like, malevolent man that the narrator continually depicts him as, we feel that he would seek further revenge on Hester. A truly cruel person might see how well Hester withstands her punishment, how strong she is, and might seek to hurt her further. Chillingworth does not go there, even though we KNOW he is capable of hardcore mind tricks and manipulation. This makes us think that, deep down, he might truly love Hester, or at least have some respect for her. Quote: "Thou shalt forgive me!" cried Hester, flinging herself on the fallen leaves beside [Dimmesdale]. "Let God punish! Thou shalt forgive!" (17.18). Thought: When Dimmesdale discovers that Chillingworths mental manipulation is all part of a twisted plot to seek revenge on his wifes lover, he is not too happy. When we see this scene unfold, we become kind of annoyed with Dimmesdale. What was Hester supposed to do? Chillingworth told her he would rat Dimmesdale out if she ever revealed his identity as he rightful husband. Do you think Dimmesdales anger is warranted at this moment? Quote:
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"[] That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, never did so!" (17.21) Thought: So, on the sin-o-meter in Puritan Boston, Chillingworths plan to torture Dimmesdale rates the highest mentally, with Dimmesdale and Hesters adulterous relationship coming in a close second, and perhaps Mistress Hibbins witch-practicing surprise you? According to Dimmesdale, the violation of the human heart and soul is the greatest crime anyone could ever commit. Quote: "Thou hast escaped me!" [Chillingworth] repeated more than once. "Thou hast escaped me!" "May God forgive thee!" said the minister. "Thou, too, hast deeply sinned!" (23.28-29) Thought: Chillingworths revenge plot is thwarted when Dimmesdale does the exact thing that Chillingworth has been threatening to do all along: expose his sin to the townspeople. The language here is very interesting to us, because in exclaiming that the minister has "escaped" him, we feel that the doctors relationship with Dimmesdale has developed into a game of cat and mouse rather than a simple quest for revenge. Quote: At old Roger Chillingworth's decease (which took place within the year), and by his last will and testament, of which Governor Bellingham and the Reverend Mr. Wilson were executors, he bequeathed a very considerable amount of property, both here and in England, to little Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne. (24.6) Thought: What do you make of Chillingworths final act? He knows Pearl is not his own daughter, and yet he makes her an heiress. Why do you think he does this, and how has he changed over his seven year revenge quest?
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Women and Femininity Quotes

Quote: Children have always a sympathy in the agitations of those connected with them; always, especially, a sense of any trouble or impending revolution, of whatever kind, in domestic circumstances; and therefore Pearl, who was the gem on her mother's unquiet bosom, betrayed, by the very dance of her spirits, the emotions which none could detect in the marble passiveness of Hester's brow (21.4) Thought: Pearl is like litmus paper (hey, chemistry class), revealing the emotions and feelings that lie in her mothers heart and that her mother tries so hard to suppress. Why does Hester act as passive as marble? Why does she not want to show her feelings? Quote: "Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee, and the sorrow without. Take heed how thou deniest to himwho, perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for himselfthe bitter, but wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips!" (3.26) Thought: As a woman, Hester cannot keep her adultery a secret in the same way that her lover can, because her pregnancy becomes a visual sign of this "sin," a sign that everyone around her can clearly see. Because of this, Hester is punished while her lover roams free. Though we know Hester has good reasons for wanting to keep her lovers identity a secret, it does strike us as a bit unfair that Hester has to endure such a hard punishment simply because she is a pregnant woman. Quote: Throughout them all, giving up her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point, and in which they might vivify and embody their images of woman's frailty and sinful passion. Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,at her, the child of honorable parents,at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be a woman, at her, who had once been innocent, as the figure, the body, the reality of sin. And over her grave, the infamy that she must carry thither would be her only monument. (5.1) Thought:
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Hester becomes an example to all young women of what not to do. What does the narrator mean when he says that she loses her "individuality" as a result of being this example? Why does this happen, and do you agree that Hester loses her individuality? Quote: Women derive a pleasure, incomprehensible to the other sex, from the delicate toil of the needle. (5.6). Thought: We think that this sentence is plain strange, and we kind of feel like we are being placed in the middle of a big, fat generalization. We remember that author is a man. Should that impact how we read or interpret a statement like this one? Regardless, the narrator is giving us a peak into the domestic, private world of women. He indicates that they enjoy the tedious, delicate work involved in sewing clothes. The word "toil" is interesting and seems to carry more weight than the synonym "work." The narrator seems to say women like to work, to struggle with a difficult task that demands constant attention and focus. So much of this book deals with disjunctures between private and public life. This speculation on the pleasure of needlework on Hawthornes part seems to be another way of representing an interior life for Hester that gets otherwise obscured by that famous scarlet A. Quote: By degrees, nor very slowly, her handiwork became what would now be termed the fashion.But it is not recorded that, in a single instance, her skill was called in aid to embroider the white veil which was to cover the pure blushes of a bride. The exception indicated the ever relentless vigor with which society frowned upon her sin. (5.6). Thought: What does the fact that Hester is not asked to sew wedding dresses for fear of tainting the bride tell us about Puritan society? What we cant get over in this book is the lack of gray area or of the "in between." We see examples of pious women and we get to know Hester (the opposite of a pious woman), but do we ever get to see an example of a woman who is somewhere in the middle of both extremes? The absence of such figures allows us to understand Puritan society even more. Quote: The letter was the symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her, so much power to do, and power to sympathize, that many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its
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original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength. (13.3) Thought: What does the narrator mean here when he says, "so strong was Hester Prynne, with a womans strength"? Is he saying that she is as strong as a woman can be, is he saying that her "womans strength" makes her stronger than all others (man, woman, or child), or do you think he is saying something completely different? What do you think the narrator would mean if he had said, "so strong was Hester Prynne, with a mans strength"? Quote: Some attribute had departed from her, the permanence of which had been essential to keep her a woman. Such is frequently the fate, and such the stern development, of the feminine character and person, when the woman has encountered, and lived through, an experience of peculiar severity. If she be all tenderness, she will die. If she survive, the tenderness will either be crushed out of her, orand the outward semblance is the samecrushed so deeply into her heart that it can never show itself more. The latter is perhaps the truest theory. She who has once been woman, and ceased to be so, might at any moment become a woman again, if there were only the magic touch to effect the transformation. (13.5-6) Thought: The narrator makes an interesting claim here about the general nature of women. He seems to argue that they either remain tender all their lives and die from such tenderness, or life crushes the tenderness within them and they are no longer women as a result. Its the "either/or" argument here that really stumps us. In this way, we get a sense of just how hard it must have been to be a woman (or a man, for that matter) in mid-17th century Boston. It seems like a womans lot in life is pretty much destined to one of two paths: sin or purity, sorrow or death. What do you think about this argument? Do you think Hester becomes less of a woman during the course of the novel? Quote: Indeed, the same dark question often rose into her mind, with reference to the whole race of womanhood. Was existence worth accepting, even to the happiest among them? As concerned her own individual existence, she had long ago decided in the negative, and dismissed the point as settled. A tendency to speculation, though it may keep woman quiet, as it does man, yet makes her sad. She discerns, it may be, such a hopeless task before her. (13.9) Thought:
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What exactly does Hester question when she wonders, "was existence worth accepting, even to the happiest among them?" It seems to us that she is trying to decide whether or not to keep on living. Are you surprised that Hester is contemplating the advantages of death? We have to say, we think its pretty rad that Hester is able to get enough distance on the society shes living in to think about how the relations between men and women in Puritan Boston need to be transformed. Quote: Let men tremble to win the hand of woman, unless they win along with it the utmost passion of her heart! Else it may be their miserable fortune, as it was Roger Chillingworth's, when some mightier touch than their own may have awakened all her sensibilities, to be reproached even for the calm content, the marble image of happiness, which they will have imposed upon her as the warm reality. (15.5) Thought: You dont want a woman unless you have her fully if you dont have her fully, beware. The narrator seems to place blame for the adultery upon Hesters passionate nature rather than on Chillingworths neglect. In this society, women are believed to be wildly passionate and, therefore, inclined to break the rules. Hey, but Dimmesdale breaks the rules too! Why doesnt the narrator talk about the passion in mens hearts as well? Quote: Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor for ever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it. Towards her mother, too, Pearl's errand as a messenger of anguish was all fulfilled. (23.10-12; 30-32) Thought: Why is it that only upon Dimmesdales confession and (nearly simultaneous) death that Pearl melts and becomes a woman in the world? The narrator seems to imply that being a woman in this society is closely tied to being capable of feeling emotion and of forgiving.
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Compassion and Forgiveness Quotes

Quote: "Ah, but," interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, "let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart." (2.6) Thought: Here we are exposed to a rare voice in the Puritan community. This young woman is sympathetic to Hester in a way that most of the townspeople are not, at least at the outset of the novel. How does this womans opinion complicate or confirm your understanding of mid-17th century Boston society? Why do you think we are presented with such a diversity of voices and opinions in these opening pages? Quote: "What do we talk of marks and brands, whether on the bodice of her gown, or the flesh of her forehead?" cried another female, the ugliest as well as the most pitiless of these self-constituted judges. "This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there no law for it? Truly there is, both in the Scripture and the statute-book. Then let the magistrates, who have made it of no effect, thank themselves if their own wives and daughters go astray!" (2.7) Thought: Here we get some rare insight into why the townspeople are so harsh and unforgiving. This woman argues that Hesters punishment should be far more extreme because she has offended the entire Boston society. To sin, we learn, is not only to injure ones own reputation but to also mess with the entire towns reputation. We might infer that this is a bad thing because the community as a whole then looks bad in the eyes of God. Quote: "Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin?" (3.26) Thought: According to Dimmesdale, grace and forgiveness are earned only through the fire of public repentance and shame, and not through private penitence before God. Does Hester subscribe
to this same belief about forgiveness? Does the narrator? Quote: The days of the far-off future would toil onward, still with the same burden for her to take up, and bear along with her, but never to fling down; for the accumulating days, and added years, would pile up their misery upon the heap of shame. (5.1) Thought: Though people may speak of grace and forgiveness, Hester seems to feel only the shame of breaking the rules in a law-loving society and she believes this shame will follow her to her grave. What examples of grace and forgiveness do we see in this novel? Quote: "Do you see that woman with the embroidered badge?" they would say to strangers. "It is our Hester, the town's own Hester, who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!" (13.3) Thought: We feel like it would be so easy for Hester to just live out her punishment passively, hide from society, and remain in the shadows of town. But Hester doesnt do this. She works hard. In fact, she works so hard that she transforms the meaning of the scarlet letter. Her active approach to her punishment is respected by the townspeople. She becomes a little bit of a superstar as a result. Quote: The judgment of God is on me," answered the conscience-stricken priest. "It is too mighty for me to struggle with!" "Heaven would show mercy," rejoined Hester, "hadst thou but the strength to take advantage of it." (17.43-44) Thought: The minister does not yet recognize that forgiveness and grace await him if he confesses, but Hester has a different philosophy. In this moment, she seems to argue that Dimmesdales god has already forgiven him, if he were only to acknowledge this forgiveness. We see here a battle of two philosophies of forgiveness: can forgiveness only happen publicly, or is forgiveness more of a private matter between an individual and his god?
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Quote: "Thou shalt forgive me!" cried Hester, flinging herself on the fallen leaves beside him [Dimmesdale]. "Let God punish! Thou shalt forgive!" (17.18). Thought: We think this is a totally fascinating moment. For one, we instinctively want to defend Hester when Dimmesdale starts yelling at her, mostly because we feel like she had no choice but to keep her husbands identity a secret (but we could be wrong about that). However, what is really juicy about these particular words of Hesters is that she seems to be saying, "dont you dare become like all of those cruel townspeople who have been so mean to me! God is the only person who can punish me. We humans are meant to forgive one another." Philosopher Hester strikes again and argues that Dimmesdale, as a human being, must forgive her. What do you think of this philosophy? Quote: "I do forgive you, Hester," replied the minister, at length, with a deep utterance out of an abyss of sadness, but no anger. "I freely forgive you now. May God forgive us both!" (17.21) Thought: Dimmesdale finally comes around and forgives Hester, but only after hearing her passionate plea. If a minister has such a difficult time forgiving someone, especially someone he loves, then we begin to understand more and more just how intertwined religion and law are in this society. Quote: "God knows; and He is merciful! He hath proved his mercy, most of all, in my afflictions. By giving me this burning torture to bear upon my breast! By sending yonder dark and terrible old man, to keep the torture always at red-heat! By bringing me hither, to die this death of triumphant ignominy before the people! Had either of these agonies been wanting, I had been lost for ever! Praised be his name! His will be done! Farewell!" (23.35) Thought: Dimmesdale believes that God has forgiven him, and finds proof of his mercy in the years of self-torture and mental struggles he has endured. This seems initially like kind of a contradiction, that God shows mercy through pain. How does this notion of penitence differ from Hesters? What kinds of comparisons can be made between Dimmesdales private and Hesters public guilt?
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Quote: "Hadst thou sought the whole earth over," said he, looking darkly at the clergyman, "there was no one place so secret, no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,--save on this very scaffold!" (23.18) Thought: Dimmesdale finds forgiveness, though not from Chillingworth. Chillingworth admits that Dimmesdale has escaped his revenge. Is Chillingworth capable of forgiveness at this point? Quote: "May God forgive thee!" said the minister. "Thou, too, hast deeply sinned!" (23.28-29) Thought: We see here that Dimmesdale now subscribes to the kind of forgiveness that can only take place between an individual and his god. He believes that Chillingworth has done some really bad things, but they are things that the townspeople will never know about. Chillingworths bad deeds are harder to pinpoint than adultery or witchcraft. In this way, Dimmesdale seems to discover a gap in the concept of public forgiveness.
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Sin Quotes
Quote: "If thou feelest it to be for thy soul's peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!" (3.26) Thought: Here, Dimmesdale argues that to sin is to suffer. What is revealed here is that sin is often invisible, that sinners can easily disguise themselves unless their sins mark their bodies, as with Hesters pregnancy. Punishment and absolution of sin has a lot to do with outward appearances and hearsay. Quote: " With the superstition common to his brotherhood, he fancied himself given over to a fiend, to be tortured with frightful dreams, and desperate thoughts, the sting of remorse, and despair of pardon; as a foretaste of what awaits him beyond the grave. But it was the constant shadow of my presence!the closest propinquity of the man whom he had most vilely wronged!--and who had grown to exist only by this perpetual poison of the direst revenge! Yea, indeed!he did not err!there was a fiend at his elbow! A mortal man, with once a human heart, has become a fiend for his especial torment!" (4.18) Thought: Why do you think Chillingworth is so intent on making Dimmesdales life miserable? Instead of exposing his sin to the townspeople, Chillingworth prefers to manipulate the Reverends heart and mind, and to explore Dimmesdales relationship to sin. Quote: Thus the young and pure would be taught to look at her, with the scarlet letter flaming on her breast,at her, the child of honorable parents,at her, the mother of a babe, that would hereafter be a woman, at her, who had once been innocent, as the figure, the body, the reality of sin. (5.1) Thought: What does the narrator mean when he says Hester is "the figure, the body, the reality of sin?" If Hester represents sin in this society, then how do we interpret the fact that she becomes a legend and a revered woman in her old age? Does the concept of sin change over the course
of the novel? Quote: The scarlet letter burned on Hester Prynne's bosom. Here was another ruin, the responsibility of which came partly home to her. (14.9) Thought: What does the narrator mean when he says, "here was another ruin?" The narrator refers here to the ruin of Chillingworths character through his quest for vengeance; his need for revenge is, of course, partially Hesters responsibility. If ruination is a sin, then we get more insight into this whole concept of what kinds of damage sin does to individuals. In this light, sin involves destruction. The word "ruin" reminds us of ancient, crumbling Greek buildings and of things that are beyond repair. Quote: "What evil have I done the man?" asked Roger Chillingworth again. (14.16) Thought: Chillingworth refuses to recognize his guilt in destroying another humans spirit. But maybe he is not so guilty. Chillingworth argues that he kept a man physically alive who would otherwise crumble under the weight of guilt he feels. At the end of the novel, Dimmesdale recognizes Chillingworth as being sent by God to torment him so that Dimmesdale would see the error of his ways. The narrator tells us Chillingworth is the Devil incarnate. What role do you think Chillingworth serves in this book? What are Chillingworths motives? Are they static throughout the novel. Quote: "Had I one friend, or were it my worst enemy! to whom, when sickened with the praises of all other men, I could daily betake myself, and be known as the vilest of all sinners, methinks my soul might keep itself alive thereby. Even thus much of truth would save me! But now, it is all falsehood! all emptiness! all death!" (17.18) Thought: Umm, Mr. Dimmesdale? You do have such a friend. His name is Roger Chillingworth. In this moment, we dont quite know how to feel about Chillingworth. We dont like the guy, but his mind games and emotional manipulation of Dimmesdale are what keep the Reverend alive. Dimmesdale cannot survive without him. In fact, when Dimmesdale acts independently of
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Chillingworth at the end of the novel, he dies. Quote: Hester Prynne was now fully sensible of the deep injury for which she was responsible to this unhappy man, in permitting him to lie for so many years, or, indeed, for a single moment, at the mercy of one, whose purposes could not be other than malevolent. (17.23) Thought: In staying silent about Chillingworths identity, Hester realizes she has hurt Dimmesdale. Again, we hear a debate about silence and sin. Isnt sin only sin when it is named and recognized by others? In this society, is a sin worse if it is kept under wraps or if it is publicly displayed? Quote: "Be it sin or no," said Hester Prynne bitterly, as she still gazed after him, "I hate the man!" [] "Yes, I hate him!" repeated Hester, more bitterly than before. "He betrayed me! He has done me worse wrong than I did him!" (15.2-4) Thought: Again we are presented with a sin-o-meter: some sins are greater or more serious than others in this society, and both Dimmesdale and Hester believe that Dimmesdales sin is the greatest of all. Do you agree? Quote: "We are not, Hester, the worst sinners in the world. There is one worse than even the polluted priest! That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, never did so!" (17.31) Thought: Here, Dimmesdale tells us what the worst sin of all time is: violating the human heart. What does it mean to violate the human heart? What does this kind of sin involve? This kind of sin seems like it would be hard to point out or highlight to a society and certainly hard to prosecute.
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Quote: "Thou hast escaped me!" [Chillingworth] repeated more than once. "Thou hast escaped me!" "May God forgive thee!" said the minister. "Thou, too, hast deeply sinned!" (23.28-29) Thought: You can throw popcorn at us, but we strangely feel sorry for Chillingworth at this moment. Are we crazy? It just seems like Chillingworths whole life has been one big disaster. He marries a beautiful woman, he leaves her in the Massachusetts Bay Colony so that he can seek his fortune, he is separated from her for two years on account of a run-in with Native Americans, he is reunited with his lady and finds she has had a love-child by another man, he spends seven years devoting his attention to this man, and then this man dies. When Dimmesdale says, "thou, too, hast deeply sinned," we can almost see the similarities between the two men, and Chillingworth does not seem so evil to us anymore. But you might continue to throw popcorn at us. Were sentimental, what can we say.
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Hypocrisy Quotes
Quote: "Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him--yea, compel him, as it were--to add hypocrisy to sin?" (3.26) Thought: Dimmesdale, Hesters lover, charges her publicly to reveal the name of her partner. He suggests that allowing the lover to be a hypocrite will do great damage to his soul (foreshadowing). Yet, even as he suggests this, Dimmesdale is unwilling to open himself up to public scrutiny. What do you think would happen if Hester were to respond to Dimmesdales plea at this moment with, "The father of my love child is the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale" what do you think he would do? Would the townspeople believe her? Quote: Would not the people start up in their seats, by a simultaneous impulse, and tear him down out of the pulpit which he defiled? Not so, indeed! They heard it all, and did but reverence him the more. They little guessed what deadly purport lurked in those self-condemning words. "The godly youth!" said they among themselves. "The saint on earth! (11.7) Thought: The funny thing is that Dimmesdale confesses his sin to his congregation though not specifically enough to be believed. He tells them hes a bad man, a sinful man. However, this "confession" only makes him seem more divine in the eyes of his parishioners. A self-effacing person was a good person in the eyes of this community; Dimmesdales apparent humility makes him seem like a positive role model to his congregation. Had Dimmesdale given specific information while condemning himself on the pulpit (i.e., "I am Hester Prynnes lover"), the parishioners most likely would not love him so much anymore. Quote: "Nay; not so, my little Pearl!" answered the minister; for, with the new energy of the moment, all the dread of public exposure, that had so long been the anguish of his life, had returned upon him; and he was already trembling at the conjunction in whichwith a strange joy, neverthelesshe now found himself. "Not so, my child. I shall, indeed, stand with thy mother thee one other day, but not to-morrow!" (12.17-28)
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Thought: Pearl is one perceptive pumpkin. She nails Dimmesdales hypocrisy on the nose. We see in this moment why the Reverend is trapped in hypocrisy: he is absolutely terrified of "public exposure." Hes kind of a coward, no? Especially when we consider the suffering Hester has endured. Quote: "And so it is!" said the child [Pearl]. "And, mother, he has his hand over his heart! Is it because, when the minister wrote his name in the book, the Black Man set his mark in that place? But why does he not wear it outside his bosom, as thou dost, mother?" (16.32) Thought: How in the heck is Pearl so smart? Does she have x-ray vision or something? If the character of Pearl were taken out of this story completely, how would the story change? Quote: "No, Hester, no!" replied the clergyman. "There is no substance in it! It is cold and dead, and can do nothing for me! Of penance I have had enough! Of penitence there has been none! Else, I should long ago have thrown off these garments of mock holiness, and have shown myself to mankind as they will see me at the judgment-seat. Happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom! Mine burns in secret! Thou little knowest what a relief it is, after the torment of a seven years' cheat, to look into an eye that recognizes me for what I am!" (17.18) Thought: Hypocrisy has eaten the ministers soul alive. As much as we feel for the man, we cant help but snag on the words, "happy are you, Hester, that wear the scarlet letter openly upon your bosom!" Is Hester really happy? Does Dimmesdale know the suffering she has endured? Quote: Were such a man once more to fall, what plea could be urged in extenuation of his crime? None; unless it avail him somewhat, that he was broken down by long and exquisite suffering; that his mind was darkened and confused by the very remorse which harrowed it; that, between fleeing as an avowed criminal, and remaining as a hypocrite, conscience might find it hard to strike the balance; that it was human to avoid the peril of death and infamy, and the inscrutable machinations of an enemy; that, finally, to this poor pilgrim, on his dreary and desert path, faint, sick, miserable, there appeared a glimpse of human affection and sympathy,
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a new life, and a true one, in exchange for the heavy doom which he was now expiating. (18.4) Thought: Hypocrisy is more difficult to forgive, or to heal from, than a sin that is aired out in the open Quote: "Doth he love us?" said Pearl, looking up with acute intelligence into her mother's face. "Will he go back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into the town?" "Not now, dear child," answered Hester. "But in days to come he will walk hand in hand with us. We will have a home and fireside of our own; and thou shalt sit upon his knee; and he will teach thee many things, and love thee dearly. Thou wilt love him; wilt thou not?" "And will he always keep his hand over his heart?" inquired Pearl. (19.33-37). Thought: Though we love the plan Hester and Dimmesdale cook up to disappear into the sunset in search of happiness and love, Pearl (smart cookie that she is) zeroes in on the problem with the whole scheme: running away wont remove Dimmesdales hypocrisy, itll only bury this hypocrisy underneath more lies. Quote: "What a strange, sad man is he!" said the child, as if speaking partly to herself. "In the dark night-time, he calls us to him, and holds thy hand and mine, as when we stood with him on the scaffold yonder! And in the deep forest, where only the old trees can hear, and the strip of sky see it, he talks with thee, sitting on a heap of moss! And he kisses my forehead, too, so that the little brook would hardly wash it off! But, here, in the sunny day, and among all the people, he knows us not; nor must we know him! A strange, sad man is he, with his hand always over his heart!" (21.10-12) Thought: Pearl points out the ministers hypocrisy yet again. She also unravels the heart of hypocrisy: the struggle between public recognition and private guilt. In this novel, we dont really dig the townspeople or how strict their laws are. We dont really feel the fact that everyone knows each others business, and the fact that Hesters choice to take a lover becomes a public offense. However, in this moment, Pearl points to the ways in which public life is important: private identity only becomes genuinely significant when it is publicly recognized. We realize its not right just to say, "the public side of things is bad and the private side of things are
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good." The ideal would be to have a uniform identity in both public and private spheres. Quote: "Hadst thou sought the whole earth over," said he, looking darkly at the clergyman, "there was no one place so secret, no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,--save on this very scaffold!" (23.18) Thought: Like Dimmesdale, Chillingworth is pretending to be something that he is not. Does that make him a hypocrite as well? Hypocrisy has been Dimmesdales dungeon, it would seem.
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Guilt and Blame Quotes

Quote: In a moment, however, wisely judging that one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another, she took the baby on her arm, and, with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed, looked around at her townspeople and neighbours. On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. (2.10) Thought: Hester embraces the blame that has been cast upon her. She is nervous at first (we would be, too), but she flashes that "haughty smile" at the townspeople and shows that she accepts their punishment. In this way, it almost feels like she neutralizes the power of the scarlet letter. We also find it interesting that the narrator describes the onlookers as "neighbors" at this moment. Its as if our narrator wants to remind us that they are Hesters equals. Quote: "[]Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life."(3.26) Thought: We cant get over this moment, because the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale seems to be begging Hester to reveal her lover (a.k.a. him), and yet he wont do so himself. Why does he give Hester the responsibility of ratting her lover out, and why doesnt he just fess up right here and now? Even at this early stage in the book, the Reverend already seems to be wracked with guilt and grief. Quote: Calm, gentle, passionless, as he appeared, there was yet, we fear, a quiet depth of malice, hitherto latent, but active now, in this unfortunate old man, which led him to imagine a more intimate revenge than any mortal had ever wreaked upon an enemy. To make himself the one trusted friend, to whom should be confided all the fear, the remorse, the agony, the ineffectual repentance, the backward rush of sinful thoughts, expelled in vain! All that guilty sorrow, hidden from the world, whose great heart would have pitied and forgiven, to be revealed to him, the Pitiless, to him, the Unforgiving! All that dark treasure to be lavished on the very man, to whom nothing else could so adequately pay the debt of vengeance! (11.1)
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Thought: Roger Chillingworth is one chilly man. The language here gets interesting. The narrator is basically saying that Chillingworth devises a kind of revenge that is more personal and cutthroat than any other person has ever devised. Whoa. Chillingworth stops at nothing to seek out the guilty party, and in doing so, he seems to display some behavior that is not very, well, neighborly. Quote: Poor, miserable man! what right had infirmity like his to burden itself with crime? Crime is for the iron-nerved, who have their choice either to endure it, or, if it press too hard, to exert their fierce and savage strength for a good purpose, and fling it off at once! (12.2) Thought: The narrator hits the nail on the head here. Dimmesdale is just too weak and good-natured to shoulder the kind of blame he is foisting upon himself. If he were a professional criminal or someone used to getting blamed all the time, he could maybe handle all of the guilt that he keeps heaping on himself. His guilt is growing by the second, and he doesnt seem to have the emotional or physical resilience to bear it. At the same time, the agony of this guilt is his self-punishment. Quote: The moment that he did so, there came what seemed a tumultuous rush of new life, other life than his own, pouring like a torrent into his heart, and hurrying through all his veins, as if the mother and the child were communicating their vital warmth to his half-torpid system. The three formed an electric chain. (12.17-28) Thought: Dimmesdales guilt is momentarily relieved while standing on the town scaffold, arm-in-arm with Hester and Pearl. We certainly breathe a (momentary) sigh of relief here as we watch Dimmesdale made strong by this make-believe confession. He is invigorated by the idea of telling the truth of his relationship with Hester. The word "electric" strikes us as pretty fancy and somehow important. Why do you think the narrator describes the trio as an "electric chain?" Quote: To his features, as to all other objects, the meteoric light imparted a new expression; or it might well be that the physician was not careful then, as at all other times, to hide the malevolence with which he looked upon his victim. (12.33-34)
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Thought: Theres seriously a meteor making the shape of an A. This book is awesome. Not only that, but the meteor casts a light upon Chillingworths face, which reveals the underbelly of his intentions: his desire to rat out Dimmesdale. In this way, nature seems to be exposing the truth (of both Chillingworth Dimmesdale). Bathed in natures light, Dimmesdales guilt is momentarily lifted, while Chillingworth just looks plain guilty. Interesting, very interesting. Quote: She had wandered, without rule or guidance, in a moral wilderness; as vast, as intricate and shadowy, as the untamed forest, amid the gloom of which they were now holding a colloquy that was to decide their fate.(18.2) Thought: All of the blame has taught Hester Prynne a thing or two about life. Its been a bumpy ride, and trying to navigate the social codes and values around here has been like trying to make her way through a thorny forest. And at this moment, we see Hester in the midst of a literal forest (what a coincidence). In this light, it is intriguing to note that she doesnt adhere to the laws and values around her, but plans instead to escape with Pearl and Dimmesdale to a new home. Quote: And be the stern and sad truth spoken, that the breach which guilt has once made into the human soul is never, in this mortal state, repaired. It may be watched and guarded; so that the enemy shall not force his way again into the citadel, and might even, in his subsequent assaults, select some other avenue, in preference to that where he had formerly succeeded. But there is still the ruined wall, and, near it, the stealthy tread of the foe that would win over again his unforgotten triumph. (18.4) Thought: When someone sins, the narrator seems to say, the sin does unutterable damage to his soul a kind of superhuman or divine punishment, which leaves a gaping hole in the souls wall. The narrator argues here that, once someone like Dimmesdale sins (a.k.a. violates the laws of his society and religion), theres always the temptation to repeat that sin lurking nearby. Quote: But there lay the embroidered letter, glittering like a lost jewel, which some ill-fated wanderer might pick up, and thenceforth be haunted by strange phantoms of guilt, sinkings of the heart,
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and unaccountable misfortune. [] The stigma gone, Hester heaved a long, deep sigh, in which the burden of shame and anguish departed from her spirit. O exquisite relief! She had not known the weight, until she felt the freedom! (18.11-12) Thought: Why is it that only in literally throwing away her scarlet letter does Hester feel any relief or freedom at last? Isnt it just thread? Why and how does it have such power? This moment reminds us of the first chapter ("The Custom House"), in which the narrator comes across the scarlet letter for the first time and actually feels it burn against his own chest. The letter is filled with guilt and blame. Quote: "Is not this better," murmured he, "than what we dreamed of in the forest?" "I know not! I know not!" she hurriedly replied. "Better? Yea; so we may both die, and little Pearl die with us!" (23.18-23) Thought: Here we are presented with two arguments: Dimmesdale says that he feels freer having confessed his sins publicly, while Hester is skeptical that confession is the way to go. Do you think Dimmesdale and Hester should have run away to England instead of confessing their love publicly? We also think its interesting that Dimmesdale makes the choice to confess without consulting Hester. He does what he needs to do to clear his own conscience. Quote: The angel and apostle of the coming revelation must be a woman, indeed, but lofty, pure, and beautiful; and wise, moreover, not through dusky grief, but the ethereal medium of joy; and showing how sacred love should make us happy, by the truest test of a life successful to such an end! (24.11) Thought: We just love this part of The Scarlet Letter. Here, the narrator tells us that Hester had once fancied herself a prophetess, or a lady who could predict the future, and who could revolutionize the roles women play in relation to men and to society. The narrator claims that such a philosophizing person would have to be a woman, but she would have to be
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knowledgeable and wise because of the "joy" she has known. The narrator seems to argue here that the guilt and blame Hester has endured has made her wise, sure, but has also worn her down and weakened her.
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Justice and Judgment Quotes

Quote: "The magistrates are God-fearing gentlemen, but merciful overmuch,that is a truth," added a third autumnal matron. "At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne's forehead. Madame Hester would have winced at that, I warrant me. But she, the naughty baggage, little will she care what they put upon the bodice of her gown! Why, look you, she may cover it with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever!" "Ah, but," interposed, more softly, a young wife, holding a child by the hand, "let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart." (2.5-6) Thought: Why are these townswomen so cruel? And what role do you think the "young wife" plays in this moment? Here we see what the absence of sympathy can do. Quote: Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom. (5.3) Thought: If we were Hester, we would want to book it out of town with Pearl on the next ship. However, Hester takes a different approach. She embraces her punishment in order to purify herself. How is her approach different from or similar to Dimmesdales approach? Quote: This feeble and most sensitive of spirits could do neither, yet continually did one thing or another, which intertwined, in the same inextricable knot, the agony of heaven-defying guilt and vain repentance. (12.2) Thought: Our Shmoopster brains just cant help but stare at the phrase "heaven-defying guilt" here what does that mean? Does it mean that the guilt Dimmesdale endures will ultimately prevent him from getting into heaven? Or does it mean that the guilt he imposes upon himself is not
necessarily the kind of guilt that heaven endorses? Quote: "At the great judgment day!" whispered the minister, and, strangely enough, the sense that he was a professional teacher of the truth impelled him to answer the child so. "Then, and there, before the judgment-seat, thy mother, and thou, and I, must stand together. But the daylight of this world shall not see our meeting!" (12.17-28) Thought: As frightening as she can be at times, Pearl (at this moment) asks the question weve been dying to ask: Dimmesdale, why dont you just go ahead and fess up? Here, he talks about a judgment that is very different from the judgment of Puritan society. He tells Pearl that he will stand with her and her mom before their God one day. In this way, he seems to value his Gods opinion more than he does the opinion of the townspeople. And yet he appears afraid of the townspeople. What do you think he is afraid of? Quote: It was none the less a fact, however, that, in the eyes of the very men who spoke thus, the scarlet letter had the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom. (13.35) Thought: Hesters "punishment" has become a symbol of strength, piety, and goodness. Hester has transformed the very object of scrutiny that has weighed down so much of her life into a divine icon. Quote: The judgment of God is on me," answered the conscience-stricken priest. "It is too mighty for me to struggle with!" "Heaven would show mercy," rejoined Hester, "hadst thou but the strength to take advantage of it." (17.43-44) Thought: Hester and Dimmesdale are in two very different places, and, thus, they have two very different opinions of how they should proceed with their lives. Hester seems to argue that Dimmesdale is confusing his self-inflicted judgment with that of his Gods. Dimmesdale is buckling under the weight of his gods judgment. What do you think Dimmesdale should do at this moment?
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Quote: For years past she had looked from this estranged point of view at human institutions, and whatever priests or legislators had established; criticizing all with hardly more reverence than the Indian would feel for the clerical band, the judicial robe, the pillory, the gallows, the fireside, or the church. (18.2) Thought: The narrator chooses not to delve into an exploration and explanation of the culture and history of the Native American presence in America. Instead, Native Americans are alluded to as peripheral members of Puritan society. Is there an implicit parallel between Hester and the Native Americans? Both are considered outsiders by the Puritans, and both, therefore, could care less about the laws and rules that this society enforces. In this way, we can see how the concepts of "justice" and "judgment" are largely culturally determined. Quote: Thus, we seem to see that, as regarded Hester Prynne, the whole seven years of outlaw and ignominy had been little other than a preparation for this very hour. (18.4) Thought: Whoa. This is quite a hefty statement, Narrator. If we follow this logic, the narrator implies here that all of Hesters repentance and suffering has prepared her to cast off society yet again. How does this complicate our understanding of judgment? Of right and wrong? Quote: "Hadst thou sought the whole earth over," said he, looking darkly at the clergyman, "there was no one place so secret, no high place nor lowly place, where thou couldst have escaped me,--save on this very scaffold!" (23.18) Thought: Its only in exposing himself to the judgment of the townspeople that Dimmesdale achieves justice in the face of Chillingworth and his devious ways. Dimmesdale does the very thing that scares him the most, and in so doing, he escapes his enemy. Quote: It bore a device, a herald's wording of which might serve for a motto and brief description of our now concluded legend; so somber is it, and relieved only by one ever-glowing point of light
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gloomier than the shadow: "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules." (24.12) Thought: The Puritans judgment follows Hester and Dimmesdale to their graves. However, when we dissect this description of the grave marker, there are some interesting details. We find that "the letter A" is reddish in color (gules is an old school word meaning of reddish hue) and that its light stands out more than the black (sable is a shade of black) background behind it. However, this light is so gloomy that still manages to be gloomier than the darkness behind. That being said, the narrator describes the "somber" legend that has just been told as being "relieved" by this gloomy symbol on the grave marker. Narrator? We are kind of confused. You are giving us mixed signals. We guess well just have to put our Shmoop brains together. What do you Shmoopsters think this symbol means? Is it a happy symbol? Is it an appropriate symbol? How do you feel at the end of this novel?
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Isolation Quotes
Quote: Measured by the prisoners experience, however, it might reckoned a journey of some length; for, haughty as her demeanor was, she perchance underwent an agony from every footstep of those that thronged to see her, as if her heart had been flung in the street for them all to spurn and trample upon. (2.17) Thought: Can you imagine having to walk across town with people staring at you the whole way? Its interesting that we never know a Hester who isnt isolated from the rest of society. The only Hester we know is an outcast. What do we know about her previous life? How would the story be different if it began when Hester first arrived at the Massachusetts Bay Colony? Quote: From the intense consciousness of being the object of severe and universal observation, the wearer of the scarlet letter was at length relieved, by discerning on the outskirts of the crowd a figure which irresistibly took possession of her thoughts. (3.1) Thought: Take note, friends. If you ever find yourself forced to stand on a scaffold while hundreds of people stare at you, stare right back at them (and imagine that they are chickens wearing underpants). The word outskirts shows up a lot in The Scarlet Letter, and so, whenever we see it, we sit up and pay close attention. When we first meet Chillingworth, he is literally on the outskirts of the crowd. He and Hester seem to have more in common than theyd like to admit both are outcasts. Quote: While this passed, Hester Prynne had been standing on her pedestal, still with a fixed gaze toward the stranger; so fixed a gaze, that, at moments of intense absorption, all other objects in the visible world seemed to vanish, leaving only him and her. (3.14) Thought: Hester is pretty amazing in that she can block out all of the Puritans glaring at her. Or, maybe this stranger is worse than 1,000 Puritans. What was Hester and Chillingworths relationship like before they sailed across the big blue sea?
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Quote: Dreadful as it was, she was conscious of a shelter in the presence of these thousands of witnesses. It was better to stand thus, with so many betwixt him and her, than to greet him, face to face, they two alone. (3.14) Thought: So, um, yeah. Creepy much? We know this guy has sketchiness written all over him if Hester is grateful that there are so many Puritans glaring at her. Its interesting that when Hester first laid eyes on this stranger, all else seemed to fall away until it felt like just the two of them existed. What happened during that silent encounter that led Hester to take shelter in the circumstance of her public shaming? When else does Hester find shelter or protection in this story? Does she ever find moments of comfort and relief? Quote: As he spoke, he laid his long forefinger on the scarlet letter, which forwith seemed to scortch into Hesters breast, as if it had been red-hot. He noticed her involuntary gesture, and smiled. Live, therefore, and bear about thy doom with thee, in the eyes of men and womenin the eyes of him thou didst call thy husbandin the eyes of yonder child! And, that thou mayst live, take off this draught. (4.13) Thought: Does Chillingworth remind anybody else of the evil Queen in Snow White or of Yzma in The Emperor's New Groove? The interesting thing is that instead of killing people, Chillingworth keeps them alive. He wants Hester and Dimmesdale to be healthy as can be so that they can feel their punishment and the judgment of others as fully as possible. Even though hes constantly being called the Devil in this story, Chillingworth is all about life and health. Quote: It was my folly! I have said it. But up to that epoch of my life, I had lived in vain. The world had been so cheerless! My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill and without a household fire. I longed to kindle one! (4.18) Thought: So now we get a glimpse of Chillingworths underbelly. Even though our story would have us fully associate him with the Devil, we do get a sense of what Chillingworth might have been like once upon a time, before he discovered his wife had a baby by another man. He was a loner. A scholar with his nose buried in books. Hester was a beautiful, warm, and fun young lady who
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cheered him up and connected him to the here and the now. Here, we understand that Chillingworths greatest desire and want was to have a home, a family, and an occasional party. Why, then, once he had married Hester, did he decide to sail across the ocean to a new continent and disappear for two years? Quote: Here on this wild outskirt of earth, I shall pitch my tent; for, elsewhere a wanderer, and isolated from human interests, I find here a woman, a man, a child, amongst whom and myself there exist the closest ligaments. (4.26) Thought: Theres that word again (outskirts) which, along with ignominy, must be one of Hawthornes favorite words. Again, we see a parallel between Chillingworth and Hester. Both live on the outskirts of this Puritan society. Both hold a secret. Both are unhappy. Both have a very desirable skill (Chillingworth is a doctor and Hester is an amazing sewer). How are Chillingworth and Hester different? Quote: On the outskirts of town, within the verge of the peninsula, but not in close vicinity to any other habitation, there was a small thatched cottage. It had been built by an earlier settler, and abandoned because the soil about it was too sterile for cultivation, while its comparative remoteness put it out of the sphere of that social activity which already marked the habits of the emigrants. It stood on the shore, looking across a basin of the sea at the forest-covered hills toward the west. (5.4) Thought: Oh sure, put the adulteress in an abandoned cabin that no one wants, far away from town, with soil too dry to even have a nice little herb garden. Does anyone else feel like its just a little ironic that Hester should be forced to live in the same house that one of the first settlers of the land lived in? This settler probably was scared out of his mind to be on a new continent, but might have been pretty excited too. We imagine him thinking about all the things he might discover, and all the things he left behind. Here, Hester lives in the same house he lived in, but instead of being an explorer, shes a prisoner. Is there any significance in the way that this house points westward? And can a thatched roof keep a house warm in a Massachusetts winter? Quote: In this manner, Hester Prynne came to have a part to perform in the world. With her native
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energy of character and rare capacity, it could not entirely cast her off, although it had set a mark upon her more intolerable to a womans heart than that which branded the brow of Cain. In all her intercourse with society, however, there was nothing that made her feel as if she belonged to it. Every gesture, every word, and even the silence of those with whom she came in contact, implied, and often expressed, that she was banished, and as much alone as if she had inhabited another sphere, or communicated with the common nature by other organs than the rest of human kind. (5.8) Thought: Can you imagine having to live like Hester lives for years and years, the whole world around you hating you? Its amazing that Hester even finds a way to connect with a society that rejects her. She must be one strong cookie to be able to continually give so fully to such cold people. If we were her, wed lock ourselves up in our cottage and never come out. But, then again, how would we survive as a single parent with no source of income? It must be pretty scary for Hester to realize that she is all alone with two mouths to feed. Quote: Doth the universe lie within the compass of yonder town, which only a little time ago was but a leaf-strewn desert, as lonely as this around us? Whither leads yonder forest track? Backwards to the settlement, thou sayest! Yes; but onward too! Deeper it goes, and deeper, into the wilderness, less plainly to be seen at every step! until, some few miles hence, the yellow leaves will show no vestige of the white mans tread. There thou art free! So brief a journey would bring thee from a world where thou hast been most wretched, to one where thou mayest still be happy! Is there not shade enough in all this boundless forest to hide thy heart from the gaze of Roger Chillingworth? (17.46) Thought: NEWS FLASH! Massachusetts Bay Colony is not, we repeat not, the center of the universe. There is a whole entire world out there, one that might be more generous, one in which Hester and Dimmesdale could live freely, without guilt, and among people who accept them. Hester seems truly enlightened at this moment. She has the big-picture perspective. Years of being rejected as an outcast has allowed her to really look at the society that banishes her, it has allowed her to daydream and think, and it has allowed her to realize how ridiculous the rules are here.
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The Supernatural Quotes

Quote: It might be, too, that a witch, like old Mistress Hibbons, the bitter tempered widow of the magistrate, was to die upon the gallows. (2.1) Thought: From the very beginning of this story, Mistress Hibbons is associated with witchcraft. All we really know of her is that shes a witch who likes to chill in the woods with other witches and who will be executed in a few years. How would this story be different if she werent in it? When Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the woods, is Mistress Hibbons watching? Quote: It had the affect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity and enclosing her in a sphere by herself. (2.11) Thought: Its amazing how a patch of cloth and thread that Hester herself embroiders can lead to her complete isolation. Throughout this story, the A is often described as having supernatural powers. The word spell used in this moment makes us think of magic and witchcraft and sorcerers. Using this idea, is Hester the only one under the letters spell? Who else might be under its spell? And if Hester made the letter herself, who cast the spell? Quote: It was whispered, by those who peered after her, that the scarlet letter threw a lurid gleam along the dark passageway of the interior. (3.33) Thought: Now, this is where The Scarlet Letter begins to sound a bit like a fairy tale or a fable. We know that, in reality, the scarlet letter probably was not glowing, but as readers were not so concerned with reality, are we? As we get used to the world of this story, we realize that anything can happen. We totally believe that Hesters letter glows, that Chillingworths eyes blaze red with fire at times, that the meteor is in the shape of an "A," that witches ride their broomsticks, etc. What do you make of these supernatural occurrences? Why is it significant that the townspeople see Hesters letter glow red? Quote:
Why dost thou smile so at me? inquired Hester, troubled at the expression of his eyes. Art thou like the Black Man that haunts the forest round about us? Hast thou enticed me into a bond that will prove the ruin of my soul? (4.33) Thought: Wow. Has Hester just sold her soul to the Devil? Well, thats what shes trying to figure out in this very moment. Apparently, Chillingworth is too good at the whole creepy thing that he is actually being confused for the Devil. And who is this Black Man in the forest that everyone keeps talking about? Is Black Man a euphemism for the Devil? We know that the Black Man lives in the woods and lures people into writing their names down in his book (with their own blood as ink). That seems like one organized Devil. Quote: Dames of elevated rank, likewise, whose doors she entered in the way of her occupation, were accustomed to distil drops of bitterness into her heart, sometimes through that alchemy of quiet malice, by which women can concoct a subtile poison from ordinary trifles, and sometimes, also, by a courser expression, that fell upon the sufferers defenceless breast like a rough blow upon an ulcerated wound. (5.8) Thought: Whenever we see the world alchemy (and we see it a lot in this story, especially in relation to Chillingworth), we think of magic and of the supernatural. Alchemy was an art begun over 2,000 years ago in the Persian Empire. Alchemists were like scientists who tried to turn everyday metals into gold, who tried to find and concoct the elixir of life (which would cure anything and keep you alive forever), and who did lots of other things like that. Here, our narrator describes the coldness of the elevated ladies toward Hester. Their mean words are like those cool little sponges that, when dry, are the size of your pinky nail, and that, when wet, grow to be the size of your hand. Thats where the alchemy comes in these women say civil things to Hester, but these words have huge, hurtful meanings beneath them. Instead of saying what they feel about Hester, the women choose to mask their words. Quote: They averred that the symbol was not mere scarlet cloth tinged in an earthly dyepot, but was red-hot with infernal fire, and could be seen glowing all alight whenever Hester Prynne walked abroad in the nighttime. And we must needs say it seared Hesters bosom so deeply, that perhaps there was more truth in the rumor than our modern incredulity may be inclined to admit. (5.12) Thought:
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Infernal fire, eh? Whenever we see the word infernal, we know it has something to do with hell or with a world of the dead. Thats a pretty hefty thing to have to carry around on your chest everyday. And yet, people seem to be more taken by its color and its glowing qualities than they are by what it represents (adultery, temptation, the Devil). We get a feeling that these townspeople are kind of in awe of the scarlet A and not for entirely negative reasons. It almost seems like the townspeople talk more about the A than they do about Hesters sin. Quote: Pearl would grow positively terrible in her puny wrath, snatching up stones to fling at them, with shrill, incoherent exclamations that made her mother tremble because they had so much the sound of a witchs anathemas in some unknown tongue. (6.6) Thought: First things first, an anathema in this context is kind of like a curse. Is Pearl a witch? Our narrator would have us believe shes not all that normal. But lets look at her childhood: she was born in a prison, she lives with her mother in a tiny cottage far away from town, and kids say mean things to her all day long. She has no friends except for her mother. We dont know about you, but wed be cursing up a storm if we were in Pearls position. Quote: The unlikeliest materialsa stick, a bunch of rags, a flowerwere the puppets of Pearls witchcraft, and, without undergoing any outward change, became spiritually adapted to whatever drama occupied the stage of her inner world. (6.8) Thought: Has anybody else noticed that Pearls toys are almost all products of nature? Here we see how much time Pearl spends in her inner world. It seems like shes constantly inventing stories, plays, and scenarios in her head, and uses nature like props. Remember how she tells her mom that she wants the sunshine that covers the front of the Governors mansion? Remember how she plays with her reflection in the shallow ocean water? Pearls got one big imagination, and the fact that she is banished from society only brings her closer to nature. Quote: Art thou a Christian child ha? Dost thou know thy catechism? Or art thou one of those naughty elves or fairies whom we thought to have left behind us, with other relics of Papistry, in merry old England? (8.5) Thought:
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When Mr. Wilson refers to merry old England in this moment, we cant help but wish we were in merry old England rather than in the strict Puritan world of Massachusetts Bay Colony. We get the sense that Mr. Wilson and his fellow government officials think of England as a place where frivolous things go down (things like dancing, parties, and eating good food). Apparently, England is also full of elves and fairies, and the Puritans had hoped to have a purely elfless and fairyless society. No cigar. Pearl does not fit into the category of a Christian child, because the society that would have molded her into a Christian child has rejected her. Even though they want to take Pearl away from Hester, youd think these government officials would see how their punishment (making Hester wearing the A) only serves to drive Hester and her child farther and farther away from their society and their ideals. Quote: There was witchcraft in little Pearls eyes, and her face, as she glanced upward at the minister, wore that naughty smile which made its expression frequently so elvish. She withdrew her hand from Mr. Dimmesdales and pointed across the street. (12.31) Thought: Quite a moment we have here. If you were making a movie, how would you film this scene? We have Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale standing on top of the town scaffold in the middle of the night, staring at a meteor that has exploded into the shape of an A. We almost get the feeling that Pearl conjures or makes Chillingworth appear. Our narrator gives us no clues as to Chillingworths whereabouts prior to this moment, and we dont even see or hear Chillingworth approach. Its only after Pearl points at something that we realize the doctor is even there.
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Fate and Free Will Quotes

Quote: Stretching for the official staff in his left hand, he laid his right upon the shoulder of a young woman, whom he thus drew forward; until, on the threshold of the prison door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will. (2.9) Thought: From the moment we meet her, Hester has a mind of her own. She is one strong cookie. Can you imagine what it must feel like to have to step out into the open air after having been locked away for so long, after having given birth to a baby? But Hester is able to make it seem like she is completely in charge of this event, like standing on the scaffold is her idea. She is no wilting lily. Quote: God gave her into my keeping, repeated Hester Prynne, raising her voice almost to a shriek. I will not give her up! And here, by sudden impulse, she turned to the young clergyman, Mr. Dimmesdale, at whom, up to this moment, she had seemed hardly so much as once to direct her eyes. (8.24) Thought: Though Hester is a champion of free will and choice throughout much of this novel, she invokes the idea of fate in this moment. According to her, she was meant to have Pearl all along God intended for her to have a baby. Quote: Better to fast and pray upon it; and still better, it may be, to leave the mystery as we find it, unless Providence reveal it of its own accord. Mr. Wilson (8.37) Thought: The Puritans in this novel believe in fate and destiny. Instead of prying into a mystery, they know their god will reveal the answers when the time is right. The idea of Divine Providence is a Christian concept which holds that God is the supreme ruler of the universe, and He controls and guides humankind. He works toward bringing about good on earth. Therefore, in the minds of Puritan leaders, theres no need to pry into a mystery when God will do the work for them.
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Quote: He himself, on the other hand, with characteristic humility, avowed his belief that if Providence should see fit to remove him, it would be because of his own unworthiness to perform its humblest mission here on earth. (9.3) Thought: Its too bad that we never get to witness Dimmesdale choosing to love Hester, because a choice that big stands in huge contrast to the way he typically lives his life. Dimmesdale is a man who believes that God will take care of everything, that God controls and guides humans in every arena. Dimmesdale seems caught between living a life tied to his fate and living a life of free will and choice. At the end of his life, does he make a choice or does he surrender to his fate? Quote: These questions were solemnly propounded to Mr. Dimmesdale by the elder ministers of Boston and the deacons of his church, who, to use their own phrase, dealt with him on the sin of rejecting the aid which Providence so manifestly held out. He listened in silence, and finally promised to confer with the physician. (9.7) Thought: Was Dimmesdale making a choice to reject medical help from those around him? Was he simply allowing fate to follow its course? Or are the townspeople so afraid of losing him that they tell him it is his fate to live? How are these people manipulating the idea of fate and free will? Quote: At the great judgment day, whispered the ministerand, strangely enough, the sense that he was a professional teacher of truth impelled him to answer the child so. Then, and there, before the judgment seat, thy mother, and thou, and I, must stand together. But the daylight of this world shall not see our meeting! (12.28) Thought: Why doesnt Dimmesdale confess his sin alongside Hester Prynne? Why does he spend years suffering his own self-loathing rather than expose the truth of his love affair? Dimmesdale does seem to have a close relationship to God, but he is also in the public eye often. Is he just scared of what people will think of him or do to him if they knew he was Pearls father, or is it that he wants to continue to serve and guide the Boston community?
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Quote: It was, indeed, a majestic idea that the destiny of nations should be revealed, in these awful hieroglyphics, on the cope of heaven. A scroll so wide might not be deemed too expansive for Providence to write a peoples doom upon. The belief was a favorite one with our forefathers, as betokening that their commonwealth was under a celestial guardianship of peculiar intimacy and strictness. But what shall we say when an individual discovers a revelation, addressed to himself alone, on the same vast sheet of record! (12.32) Thought: What exactly does this meteor-in-the-shape-of-an-A mean? In this moment, we consider the different ways in which something can be interpreted. Apparently things like giant meteors and celestial explosions happened a lot back in the days of early America, and the Puritans thought it was God sending them messages and warnings about their society. But Dimmesdale thinks that this meteor is addressed exclusively for him. Is he being self-absorbed? Does he think the world revolves around him? Or is there some truth to this idea? Quote: She was self-ordained a Sister of Mercy; or, what we may rather say, the worlds heavy hand had so ordained her, when neither the world nor she looked forward to this result. The letter was a symbol of her calling. (13.3) Thought: Hester falls into the role of caretaker, provider, and nurse. The term Sister of Mercy, suggests a close connection to God or to religion, but something tells us that Hester is not so connected to a god or to a religion. You could argue that she does not choose to be a compassionate, helpful member of society, but it is her fate to serve such a role. In this passage, what does the world mean and who occupies the world? Quote: Yet, had little Pearl never come to her from the spiritual world, it might have been far otherwise. Then, she might have come down to us in history, hand in hand with Ann Hutchinson, as the foundress of a religious sectProvidence, the person of this little girl, had assigned to Hesters charge the germ and blossom of womanhood, to be cherished and developed amid a host of difficulties. (13.7) Thought: What would Hesters life have been like if she had never had Pearl? Remember how Mistress
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Hibbons invites Hester to go frolicking in the woods with the Black Man? Hester responds, I must tarry at home, and keep watch over my little Pearl. Had they taken her from me, I would willingly have gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name into the Black Mans book too, and that with mine own blood (8.40). So, Hester does believe that fate brought her Pearl. What role does Pearl have in her mothers life? How does she affect her mother? Quote: Peace, Hester, peace! replied the old man, with gloomy sternness. It is not granted me to pardon. I have no such power as though tallest me of. () Ye that have wronged me are not sinful, save in a kind of typical illusion; neither am I fiendlike, who have snatched a fiends office from his hands. It is our fate. Let the black flower blossom as it may. Now go thy ways, and deal as thou wilt with yonder man. (14.32) Thought: In this moment Chillingworth seems to say that though Hester is not sinful, and though he is not evil, it is their fate to act or to be perceived in those ways. Whaaaa?? This is confusing. Chillingworth seems to be talking about the appearances and illusion of sin and evil, rather than the real thing. Hes talking about what people think of them, not about who they really are. What is fate anyway? Is there such a thing as the fate of how you are perceived by others?
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Man and the Natural World Quotes

Quote: But on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rosebush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him. (1.3) Thought: Ah, yes, the famous rosebush. And not just any rosebush, a wild rosebush that grows of its own free will, and not because a Puritan society has carefully looked after it. This rosebush contrasts greatly with the gloomy, grey world around it, creating a color scheme that will thread throughout the story. Our narrator also seems to give us a hint at this moment about some of the big underlying themes of his story. By the end of this chapter, we know that The Scarlet Letter will look at the battle between Nature and civilization or Nature and the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Something tells us well be rooting for Nature it seems like the underdog. Quote: But the proprietor appeared already to have relinquished as hopeless the effort to perpetuate on this side of the Atlantic, in a hard soil and amid the close struggle for subsistence, the native English taste for ornamental gardening. (7.20) Thought: So, the Puritans left England because they didnt like it and its religious trends too much, and then once they get to America, they try to grow gardens like those back home. Apparently, American soil is very different from European soil. The governor (who owns this garden) is able to grow cabbages, a pumpkin vine, apple trees, and a rosebush. By comparing garden goals (England vs. America), we might infer that its hard to control or contain Nature in America its got a mind of its own. Quote: [Mistress Hibbons:] Wilt thou go with us tonight? There will be a merry company in the forest; and I well-nigh promised the Black Man that comely Hester Prynne should make one. (8.39) Thought:
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We learn pretty quickly that the forest is a place of naughtiness that is, its where the witches go to hang out with the Black Man (a.k.a. the Devil). Mistress Hibbons is often trying to convince and recruit people to go with her to the forest at night. This might be a good time to go research witchcraft in America and the Salem Witch Trials. What kind of person might be drawn to the idea of witchcraft in this time? Why do you think Miss Hibbons is so excited to have Hester Prynne on board? Quote: In his Indian captivity, moreover, he had gained much knowledge of the properties of native herbs and roots; nor did he conceal from his patients, that these simple medicines, Natures boon to the untutored savage, had quite as large a share of his own confidence as the European pharmacopoeia, which so many learned doctors had spent centuries in elaborating. (9.2) Thought: Chillingworths medical practice is almost entirely built upon his knowledge of the healing powers of nature. What does this say about it? It seems pretty significant that he is able to keep Dimmesdale alive using the flora and fauna of the local woods. Nature, which our narrator describes from the get-go as being kind, is harnessed by an evil man in order to heal others (and to ensure that Dimmesdale survives and continues to loath himself). Quote: For the sake of the ministers health, and to enable the leech to gather plants with healing balm in them, they took long walks on the seashore or in the forest; mingling various talk with the plash and murmur of the waves, and the solemn wind anthem among in treetops. (9.12) Thought: In the old days a leech was synonymous with doctor. It was common medical practice for centuries to apply leeches to a sick person in order to cleanse their blood. Apparently, Demi Moore still uses leeches to keep her young (source). We think its pretty hilarious that Chillingworth is referred to as a leech in this moment, because, well, he kind of is a leech. Hes feasting and preying on Dimmesdale. Quote: Would he not suddenly sink into the earth, leaving a barren and blasted spot, where, in due course of time, would be seen deadly nightshade, dogwood, henbane, and whatever else of vegetable wickedness the climate could produce, all flourishing with hideous luxuriance? (15.1)
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Thought: Nightshade is a family of plants that includes lots of weedy plants, some vegetables (like potatoes), and lots of toxic plants. Dogwood is kind of flowering tree with very hard wood and semi-poisonous seeds. Legend has it that the cross upon which Jesus was crucified was made out of a Dogwood tree. Henbane is another poisonous plant that some scholars believe is the poison used to kill Hamlets father in Shakespeares Hamlet. Basically, Hesters wondering at this moment what kind of poisonous things would sprout out of the ground over Chillingworths grave. Even though Nature has been depicted as a largely kind and forgiving thin in this story, Chillingworth seems to harness all of the dark elements of nature. Quote: It straggled onward into the mystery of the primevil forest. This hemmed it in so narrowly, and stood so black and dense on either side, and imposed such imperfect glimpses of the sky above, that, to Hesters mind, it imaged not amiss the moral wilderness in which she had so long been wandering. (16.3) Thought: Our narrator is not shy in telling us that the woods mirror the internal wilderness Hester has been wandering around in all these years. The woods in The Scarlet Letter seem to be a place of both safety and violence, of freedom and confinement, and of clarity and confusion. What are we to make of these woods? What exactly goes down in them? Quote: All these giant trees and boulders of granite seemed intent on making a mystery of the course of this small brook; fearing, perhaps, that, with its never-ceasing loquacity, it should whisper tales out of the heart of the heart of the old forest whence it flowed, or mirror its revelations on the smooth surface of the pool. (16.23) Thought: Whoa, whoa, whoa! Talk about personification. Here, trees are trying to keep secrets and a brook is trying to tell a secret. The woods are alive! With the sound of music just kidding. But really, how can we not think of the forest as a magical place when everything in it seems to be talking, listening, and taking note of Hester and Dimmesdales conversation? And what kind of secrets does this forest have, exactly? Quote:
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Pearl resembled the brook, inasmuch as the current of her life gushed from a wellspring as mysterious, and had flown through scenes shadowed as heavily with gloom. But, unlike the little stream, she danced and sparkled and prattled airily along her course. (16.25) Thought: Pearl and Nature go hand and hand. Pearl is like a poster child for nature. All of her toys are built out of nature. She seems to connect with nature better than just about anyone else out there. And yet, shes also airy and breezy too shes often described as flying about. What is Pearls relationship to Nature? Quote: She thought of the dim forest, with its little dell of solitude, and love, and anguish, and the mossy tree-trunk, where, sitting hand in hand, they had mingled their sad and passionate talk with the melancholy murmur of the brook. How deeply they had known each other then! And was this the man? She hardly knew him now! (22.6) Thought: Why is the brook so sad? And was Hester and Dimmesdales conversation next to it an honest one? What does it mean that Hester no longer knows or recognizes Dimmesdale? What has happened to him? It would seem that the forest is a place where appearances or the appearance of things are not as important as the reality of things. But Boston society is completely different here, appearances are everything. And, my, my, my, doesnt Dimmesdale look stunning in this moment with his gold and feathers? Is his last act of confession influenced more by the conversation he has with Hester in the woods or by his own need to repent?
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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

Women and Femininity Quotes

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Compassion and Forgiveness Quotes

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide

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Guilt and Blame Quotes

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Justice and Judgment Quotes

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The Scarlet Letter Shmoop Literature Guide