Chapter 3 Summary and Analysis
While on the scaffold, Hester notices a Native American in the crowd. Next to him is a small man, whom Hester recognizes as her husband, Mr. Prynne. She doesn’t reveal his identity, however, and he lifts a finger to his lips to make sure she keeps quiet. He asks people in the crowd why she is on the scaffold and learns of her crime. He also learns that, because of his own presumed death and his long absence, she has been spared the harshest punishment (that is, death) for adultery.
Governor Bellingham and several magistrates sit in the balcony over the scaffold. Upon looking up at them, Hester pales, seeing no sympathy in their hearts. This clergyman wants Hester to speak of her sin in the open, but his colleague, Reverend Dimmesdale, disagrees. In explaining this, the first clergyman puts Dimmesdale on the spot, and the Reverend feels compelled to stand and ask Hester for the name of her lover. He does this despite the fact that he is the culprit.
When Hester refuses to reveal the name of the baby’s father, the first clergyman to speak delivers a sermon on the horrors of sin, focusing particularly on that symbolized by the scarlet letter. Though aware of the crowd’s condemnation, Hester glazes over, unmoved by the sermon, and is eventually taken back to prison.
Alliteration
Motifs
Repetition
Simile
Themes
Expert Q&A
What simile does Hawthorne use to describe the stranger's emotions when he spots Hester in chapter 3 of The Scarlet Letter?
Hawthorne uses two similes to describe the stranger's emotions upon seeing Hester. Initially, he looks at her "like a man chiefly accustomed to look inward," indicating his self-absorption. This changes as "a writhing horror twisted itself across his features, like a snake gliding swiftly over them," revealing his recognition and revulsion. The snake simile underscores his evil nature and the intensity of his reaction.
What clues does Hawthorne provide about the stranger's identity in the first three paragraphs of The Scarlet Letter, chapter 3?
In the first three paragraphs of Chapter 3, Hawthorne provides clues about the stranger's identity through Hester's recognition of him as her husband, whom she had been separated from for a long time. The stranger is described as having one shoulder higher than the other, resembling a scholar with a "civilized and savage costume," and displaying a "keen and penetrative" gaze. His silent gesture to Hester, urging her to keep his identity secret, further suggests their past connection.
In The Scarlet Letter Chapter 3, what is Hawthorne foreshadowing with the father's eventual disclosure?
In Chapter 3, Hawthorne foreshadows the eventual disclosure of the father's identity through Reverend Dimmesdale's insistence that Hester reveal her co-sinner. Despite Hester's silence, the narrative suggests the father will eventually be compelled to confess. Additionally, the stranger's vow that "he will be known" hints at Chillingworth's relentless pursuit to unveil the father's identity, ultimately ensuring that the truth will emerge, regardless of the consequences.
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