CHARACTERS! Hester Prynne: Hester came to the Puritan society in America before her husband. While waiting for him in America, Hester has an affair with Dimmesdale and has Pearl. She is forced to wear a red A on her chest and stand on a pedestal for the public to see her, because the Puritan society is strongly against having children while unmarried and adultery. Because of the situation that she was put in Hester sees how corrupt the Puritan values and society is.
Pearl: Pearl is the child of Hester and Dimmesdale. People in the community look down upon her because she was not born from a married couple. She is somewhat obsessed with the scarlet letter, and doesn't seem to see it the same way everyone else does.
Arthur Dimmesdale: Dimmesdale is the Reverend in the Puritan society. He had an affair with Hester, but doesn't claim to be the father of Pearl until the end of the book. The stress that he faces by keeping the secret makes him sick. He feels guilty about his affair because the society is supposed to look up to him, but he feels the need to tell the public. In the end when he tell everyone that he is Pearl's father, he thinks that everything was a test from God, and that he will now go to heaven and Hester will not. Then he dies.
Roger Chillingworth: Chillingworth is a physician that tries to help Dimmesdale. He is Hester's husband that showed up in the Puritan community years after sending over Hester. When he arrives in the community Hester is standing on the pedestal with the scarlet letter on, and she is holding Pearl. He doesn't blame Hester for the situation she is in, but he wants to get revenge on Dimmesdale. The only thing he is focused on is torturing Dimmesdale, and making him suffer.
Miss Hibbins: The governor's sister. She is a witch, and warms people about how bad the Puritan community is. Tells Hester about the "Black Man".
themes- Dehumanization: Hester is dehumanized by the public of the Puritan society as they look down upon her, and shame her by making her wear the scarlet letter. People think of her as inferior because she had an affair, and treat Pearl differently even though Pearl herself didn't do anything wrong. This is also seen in Huck Finn when society dehumanizes slaves.
Self reliance: Because Hester is alone in society she has to rely on herself often. She relies on her own abilities to provide for herself and Pearl. These ideas are present in Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay Self Reliance.
Plot: The story opens in the Puritan settlement of Boston Massachusetts with Hester, the main character, being publicly shamed for her participation in an adulterous affair. The townspeople know that she has had an afair because she has given birth, and her husband still has not joined her from england. As part of her shaming, Hester is made to wear a scarlet A, and her husband arrives just in time to see her standing before the crowd with this glaring symbol exposed on her chest. He swears himself to revenge, but does not reveal his identity to anyone but Hester. After several years have passed, Hester's old husband, who now calls himself Chillingworth, noices that the town's most prominent preacher has saved Hester from separation from her child. He grows suspicious of this churchman, named Dimmesdale, and slowly works his way into his life. Before long, Chillingworth realizes that Dimmesdale is the one whom Hester committed adultery with, and he begins to mentally torture the already sticken minister. A chance encounter re-ignites Dimmesdale's and Hester's relationship, and they secretly agree to flee to Europe and start a new life. However, Chillingworth hears of this plan. After giving his best sermon ever, Dimmesale is overcome with guilt and reveals his sin to the entire town as they are leaving the church. He then dies, leaving Hester to live a solitary yet upright life, and Pearl to marry a European aristocrat.
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Thank you to Ryann, Ibad, Hagop, and Aditi - Per 5
Okay... really, this group minus Aditi.
CHARACTERS!
Hester Prynne: Hester came to the Puritan society in America before her husband. While waiting for him in America, Hester has an affair with Dimmesdale and has Pearl. She is forced to wear a red A on her chest and stand on a pedestal for the public to see her, because the Puritan society is strongly against having children while unmarried and adultery. Because of the situation that she was put in Hester sees how corrupt the Puritan values and society is.
Pearl: Pearl is the child of Hester and Dimmesdale. People in the community look down upon her because she was not born from a married couple. She is somewhat obsessed with the scarlet letter, and doesn't seem to see it the same way everyone else does.
Arthur Dimmesdale: Dimmesdale is the Reverend in the Puritan society. He had an affair with Hester, but doesn't claim to be the father of Pearl until the end of the book. The stress that he faces by keeping the secret makes him sick. He feels guilty about his affair because the society is supposed to look up to him, but he feels the need to tell the public. In the end when he tell everyone that he is Pearl's father, he thinks that everything was a test from God, and that he will now go to heaven and Hester will not. Then he dies.
Roger Chillingworth: Chillingworth is a physician that tries to help Dimmesdale. He is Hester's husband that showed up in the Puritan community years after sending over Hester. When he arrives in the community Hester is standing on the pedestal with the scarlet letter on, and she is holding Pearl. He doesn't blame Hester for the situation she is in, but he wants to get revenge on Dimmesdale. The only thing he is focused on is torturing Dimmesdale, and making him suffer.
Miss Hibbins: The governor's sister. She is a witch, and warms people about how bad the Puritan community is. Tells Hester about the "Black Man".
themes-
Dehumanization:
Hester is dehumanized by the public of the Puritan society as they look down upon her, and shame her by making her wear the scarlet letter. People think of her as inferior because she had an affair, and treat Pearl differently even though Pearl herself didn't do anything wrong. This is also seen in Huck Finn when society dehumanizes slaves.
Self reliance:
Because Hester is alone in society she has to rely on herself often. She relies on her own abilities to provide for herself and Pearl. These ideas are present in Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay Self Reliance.
Plot:
The story opens in the Puritan settlement of Boston Massachusetts with Hester, the main character, being publicly shamed for her participation in an adulterous affair. The townspeople know that she has had an afair because she has given birth, and her husband still has not joined her from england. As part of her shaming, Hester is made to wear a scarlet A, and her husband arrives just in time to see her standing before the crowd with this glaring symbol exposed on her chest. He swears himself to revenge, but does not reveal his identity to anyone but Hester.
After several years have passed, Hester's old husband, who now calls himself Chillingworth, noices that the town's most prominent preacher has saved Hester from separation from her child. He grows suspicious of this churchman, named Dimmesdale, and slowly works his way into his life. Before long, Chillingworth realizes that Dimmesdale is the one whom Hester committed adultery with, and he begins to mentally torture the already sticken minister.
A chance encounter re-ignites Dimmesdale's and Hester's relationship, and they secretly agree to flee to Europe and start a new life. However, Chillingworth hears of this plan. After giving his best sermon ever, Dimmesale is overcome with guilt and reveals his sin to the entire town as they are leaving the church. He then dies, leaving Hester to live a solitary yet upright life, and Pearl to marry a European aristocrat.
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