The Scarlet Letter Questions and Answers
The Scarlet Letter
How does Dimmesdale punish himself in chapter 11 of The Scarlet Letter?
In Chapter 11, "The Minister's Vigil," Dimmesdale does practice self-flagellation in which he essentially whips himself with a scourge: usually a handle to which is attached many small, leather...
The Scarlet Letter
Explain the significance of the title of The Scarlet Letter.
The significance of the title of The Scarlet Letter is that it is the symbol that Hester Prynne is ordered to wear on her chest prominently to show the world that she is a sinner. The letter itself...
The Scarlet Letter
What does this quote from The Scarlet Letter mean? "No man for any considerable period can wear one face to himself...
This quote reflects the heart of Arthur Dimmesdale, and it's important to back up a bit to see what else is going on in this section: On the third day from the present, he was to preach the...
The Scarlet Letter
How does The Scarlet Letter relate to today's world?
Though modern-day America has evolved from the Puritanistic New England colonies of our forefathers, many themes that are present in The Scarlet Letter are still relevant to today's society:...
The Scarlet Letter
What does the rose bush near the prison door symbolize in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne?
At the end of the first chapter, the narrator describes the prison from which Hester enters and then, later, into which she recedes, as the “black flower of civilized society.” Earlier, he noted...
The Scarlet Letter
what is the conflict between Puritan law and the laws of nature or human law.
Laws of nature are more philosophical statements about regular happenings in the human world than actual laws. In the human world, for example, people fall in love and have relationships regularly,...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, why does Hawthorne say "the scarlet letter had not done its office" in chapter 13?
Hawthorne says, “The scarlet letter had not done it office,” meaning that it had not done its job in at least two ways. On the part of the community, quite the contrary happened, Hester Prynne had...
The Scarlet Letter
How is the attitude of the townspeople toward Hester changed during the seven years since her "crime" was...
Initially, the people of Boston—especially the women—judge Hester very harshly. One woman suggests that the magistrates who decided on Hester's punishment were too lenient and that "'they should...
The Scarlet Letter
On A Field Sable The Letter A Gules
As a final note marking Hester's grave, this line does indeed reveal the contrasts in the text and summarize the entire novel. In order to understand how, it is important to understand the meaning...
The Scarlet Letter
Is it necessary to read "The Custom House" introduction to The Scarlet Letter? If so, what is it about?
It is true that "The Custom House" is an autobiographical short story in itself, where Hawthorne looks back in time and narrates some of his memories. However, this introduction adds substance to...
The Scarlet Letter
What are the main conflicts in the book The Scarlet Letter?
There are several conflicts in the novel. The main one being man vs. society. Hester violated the rules of her society and is severely punished for her actions daily. She must bear the burden upon...
The Scarlet Letter
In chapter 10 of The Scarlet Letter, what does Pearl see in Chillingworth?
As Dimmesdale and Chillingworth are talking at a window of the home they share, Pearl sees the two men and says to her mother, Hester, Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will...
The Scarlet Letter
What did the women of the town think of Hester in The Scarlet Letter?
Most of the women in the town are extremely rueful, angry, and judgmental towards Hester Prynn due to her crime of adultery. Most of them are staunch puritanical woman who have no shortage of...
The Scarlet Letter
What is Hawthorne's ultimate message about humans and/or society in The Scarlet Letter? Is Hawthorne more optimistic...
Hawthorne's ultimate message is that we are all sinners. Moreover, in the chapter entitled, "Conclusion," the narrator says, Among many morals which press upon us from the poor minister's...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, how does Chillingworth know that Dimmesdale is keeping a secret?
He doesn't know for sure, at first. But as he spends more and more time with Dimmesdale, he notices symptoms that lead him to conclude that Dimmesdale is tortured with something. He is sickly; he...
The Scarlet Letter
What did Chillingworth do to Dimmesdale?
Chillingworth, or Roger Prynne, enacts psychological warfare on Arthur Dimmesdale because he feels that Dimmesdale has cuckolded him. Chillingworth is jealous of the love that Hester has for...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, what does Dimmesdale have upon his chest in chapter 12?
In chapter 12 there is only one mention of Arthur Dimmesdale's chest, and it is after the meteor is witnessed by the villagers, when he stood at the scaffold with Pearl and Hester in what is...
The Scarlet Letter
Give at least 2 reasons why Hester does not leave the colony in The Scarlet Letter.
Hester has convinced herself that she should remain in New England, despite all the bad things that have happened to her. After enduring the public shame and humiliation of being exposed as an...
The Scarlet Letter
In chapter 4, what does Chillingworth ask Hester to promise? Why does she agree?
Chillingworth asks Hester to promise that she will never betray his identity to anyone. In the interest of fairness, since she has chosen to keep the name of her lover secret, Hester must likewise...
The Scarlet Letter
Discuss The Scarlet Letter as a historical romance in its style.
When Hawthorne wrote this novel in 1850, he set it around the middle of the seventeenth century; in that very literal sense, then, it fulfills the historical part of "historical romance." The...
The Scarlet Letter
What does the flashback reveal about Hester's past? One way Hester endures her punishment is by dreaming of her past.
Hester's flashback from atop the scaffold is credited to her superior memory, which was, as the narrator says, "preternaturally active." She remembers all kinds of scenes from her childhood: being...
The Scarlet Letter
What are some quotes in the book that show Dimmesdale's and Chillingworth's declining physical condition in The...
In chapter 11, we find some very specific descriptions of Dimmsdale's physical decline in the words: While thus suffering under bodily disease, and gnawed and tourtured by some black trouble of...
The Scarlet Letter
What does Chillingworth discover when Reverend Dimmesdale is sleeping in chapter 10 of The Scarlet Letter and how...
In chapter 10 of The Scarlet Letter, "The Leech and his Patient", Chillingworth tries everything he can to extract from Reverend Dimmesdale the truth about the ailment that has been consuming him...
The Scarlet Letter
What are some direct quotes, about Roger Chillingworth, in The Scarlet Letter, that show Roger changing physically,...
Physically- In chapter 14, titled "Hester and the Physician" we find Hester and Chillingworth finally getting together up close and almost personal. It is here, when Hester has the best...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, what is the significance of Pearl's name?
In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl is the daughter of Hester Prynne and a product of Hester's adulterous relationship with a minister, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester Prynne...
The Scarlet Letter
Irony In The Scarlet Letter
The many examples of irony in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne include that Hester is spurned by the local townspeople and made to wear the scarlet letter as a mark of her shame, yet she...
The Scarlet Letter
In chapters 4–8 of The Scarlet Letter, what does Hester do with her spare money?
In Chapter Five, "Hester at Her Needle," the narrator tells us that, "Except for that small expenditure in the decoration of her infant, Hester bestowed all her superfluous means in charity, on...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, why is the opening scene important, what does it set up, or how does it add to the rest of the...
The opening scene—even the opening paragraph of the story—helps to establish the mood and make clear Hawthorne's feelings regarding the Puritans and their brand of "justice." The narrator says, A...
The Scarlet Letter
How does Dimmesdale die?
Dimmesdale dies on the scaffold shortly after he and Hester make plans to run away together and escape Boston and the judgment of their society. He calls Hester and Pearl up on to the scaffold with...
The Scarlet Letter
In chapter 7 of The Scarlet Letter, what is an element of irony?
It is ironic that some "leading inhabitants" of the town have been discussing removing Pearl from her mother's care. Some argue that Pearl is of "demon origin" and so they feel that separating her...
The Scarlet Letter
How does Chillingworth's name relate to his character in The Scarlet Letter?
Roger Chillingworth is a definitive villain in The Scarlett Letter, and his name is meant to reflect his evil character. As a husband, he pays no attention to his wife Hester, instead choosing to...
The Scarlet Letter
How does Dimmesdale torture himself in The Scarlet Letter?
There is another instrument of torture that should be mentioned as well: Dimmesdale's "bloody scourge." There is quite a large section of the text that deals with Dimmesdale's scourge. Let's...
The Scarlet Letter
How does Hester support herself?
Hester Prynne, heroine and protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, lives alone with her infant daughter, Pearl, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She manages to make a living to...
The Scarlet Letter
Did Roger Chillingworth change his name to Roger Chillingworth? I wrote in an essay that he did, because it says...
Roger Chillingworth is indeed a false name, firstly because Hester Prynne's last name is Prynne and not Chillingworth. Even as a disgraced adulteress, Hester would retain her husband's last name....
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, what happens to Chillingworth after Dimmesdale dies and why?
Chillingworth dies shortly after Dimmesdale passes away. Though one might assume Chillingworth would be happy that the man who helped cuckold him is dead, this is not the case. Chillingworth wanted...
The Scarlet Letter
Quote at least one line from chapter 14 that directly associates Chillingworth with the devil. Cite the page number.
In Chapter XIV, a chapter in which Chillingworth and his wife, Hester Prynne, discuss the Reverend Dimmesdale, Hester's punishment, and Chillingworth's machinations, the narrator says, "In a word,...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, which quotes help show a connection between Chillingworth and evil?
The narrator of the book tells us in chapter 9, entitled "The Leech," about the dramatic change which Chillingworth has undergone since his arrival in Boston. At first, his expression had been...
The Scarlet Letter
Explain the importance of "The Custom-House" essay in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.
For the purposes of introducing the novel, "The Custom-House" offers a conceit for telling the story of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale's doomed romance. The narrator finds the embroidered...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, why does Chillingworth ask Hester to keep his identity a secret?
When the cold, sinister, and aptly named Chillingworth, Hester's husband, arrives and finds her in disgrace as an adulteress, he says: Thou and thine, Hester Prynne, belong to me. My home is where...
The Scarlet Letter
In chapter 13 of The Scarlet Letter, why does Hester decide to reveal the secret of Roger Chillingworth's identity to...
By Chapter 13, Roger Chillingworth's companionship of Mr. Dimmesdale has begun to take a serious toll on Dimmesdale. When Hester speaks with Dimmesdale, she is shocked by his weakness, and she...
The Scarlet Letter
Name three things the letter "A" stands for in The Scarlet Letter.
The letter "A" in The Scarlet Letter is a symbol that is often debated in the literary world. Most readers feel that the "A" stands for adultery, and that was Hawthorne's intention when we wrote...
The Scarlet Letter
What is the significance of this quote in Chapter 14 of The Scarlet Letter? “Ye that have wronged me are not sinful,...
On this chapter, Hester and the Physician, Hester was out in the seaside when she finally meets Chillingworth, and dares to confront him about his treatment of Dimmesdale. She requested him that,...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, why does Chillingworth not want Dimmesdale to go up on the scaffold near the end of the novel?
In chapter 23, which is the end of the story of Dimmesdale and Hester, Arthur Dimmesdale already knows that his end is coming. He finally goes to the scaffold and he, in a sort of delirium, begins...
The Scarlet Letter
Describe the mood of chapter 1 in The Scarlet Letter. What words or phrases help to establish that mood?
The opening paragraph of the chapter provides a great place to begin to analyze mood: A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments, and gray, steeple-crowned hats [...] was assembled in front...
The Scarlet Letter
How can The Scarlet Letter be considered allegorical?
The Scarlet Letter is a strongly allegorical work. Hawthorne uses the setting, the "Custom House" introduction, and the red A of the title as allegorical representations of larger, more complex...
The Scarlet Letter
In chapters 9-15 how does Roger Chillingworth's appearance change?
By the end of chapter 9, the narrator tells us that that people in Boston had begun to notice that Roger Chillingworth's face had changed dramatically since he came to town, but most especially...
The Scarlet Letter
How did the Puritan society view Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter?
In The Scarlet Letter, author Nathaniel Hawthorne shows elements of hypocrisy in the Puritan society within the small New England town where Hester Prynne lived. This Puritan society viewed Hester...
The Scarlet Letter
Explain the significance of the breastplate incident in chapter 7 of The Scarlet Letter.
In chapter 7 of The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the breastplate to create imagery and symbolism that represents the idea that Hester Prynne and her illegitimate daughter Pearl are...
The Scarlet Letter
What does Hawthorne focus upon and criticize in the Scarlet Letter?
Hawthorne criticizes the hypocritical and harsh nature of Puritan society. Hester is ostracized for her adultery, forced to wear a literal badge of shame and raise her child alone. Meanwhile, the...
The Scarlet Letter
In The Scarlet Letter, why does Pearl cry at the end of chapter 7?
At the beginning of Chapter VI, which introduces her and bears her name, Pearl is described as “a lovely and immortal flower” sprung from a guilty passion. She makes a practice of gathering flowers...
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