Chapter Summaries
posted by AFrankart @ 2:30 PM
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The Scarlet Letter Study Guide
11 Honors English By Andrew Frankart, Nate McCullough, and Taylor Patterson
11 Honors English By Andrew Frankart, Nate McCullough, and Taylor Patterson
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Chapters 1-5
The book began with a description of a gray courtyard and prison area. In the middle of the grayness, there was a bright rosebush supposedly sprung up from the footsteps of Anne Hutchinson. The book then moves into the plot of the book when people were crowding into the center of the town for a criminal punishment. Several women were discussing the crime of adultery that had been committed when the prison door opened and a beautiful young woman came into the sunlight with a baby. The woman, Hester Prynne, moved to the scaffold set up in the town square and stood on it for several hours of embarrassment for her public punishment. Hester was also wearing a scarlet letter “A” on her bosom as a reminder of her sin for everyone to see for the rest of her life. While she is on the scaffold, Hester recognizes a man in the crowd who is her husband. The minister, Reverend Dimmesdale, attempted to exhort a confession out of Hester and she maintained her refusal to reveal her partner in sin. She was returned to prison and both she and her child, Pearl, became ill. A doctor, Roger Chllingworth, came to treat them and Hester found that he was her husband. He told Hester that he would find her partner in sin and torture him through guilt. Hester was released from prison and began work as a seamstress. She was treated with contempt by Puritan society.
Chapters 6-10
This section began with the story of Pearl’s early life. She was named because of her great cost to Hester. Pearl was a beautiful baby, but scared Hester because she reminded her of the sin by which Pearl was created. Pearl was a wild, almost inhuman child who avoided society and had a temper. Pearl was happy when she was with nature. Hester learned that some people wanted to take Pearl away from her to be raised “correctly.” Hester went to the governor’s house to deliver his order and to argue to keep Pearl. When the governor met with Hester, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale were with him. Dimmesdale was sickly and weak. To determine if Hester could keep Pearl, Reverend Wilson examined her on faith. In this examination, Pearl said that she was made by being plucked off of the rosebush by the prison door. Dimmesdale had to argue for Hester to keep Pearl and he succeeded in his argument. The next chapter discussed Chillingworth. He was a physician and entered Dimmesdale’s life to help him in his sickness. People thought Chillingworth was an answer to prayer. Chillingworth delved into Dimmesdale’s personal life and emotions and they even lived in the same house. People began to think that Chillingworth was a demon to Dimmesdale. Chillingworth suspected Dimmesdale as Hester’s partner in adultery and Dimmesdale seemed nervous about this. At the end of this section, Chillingworth opened a sleeping Dimmesdale’s shirt and finds something on his chest that pleases him.
Chapters 11-14
After Chillingworth found the mark on Dimmesdale’s chest, he had complete control over the minister. Dimmesdale became loved because he worked so hard while he was suffering from his sickness. He felt guilt about people’s thoughts of him as a saint when he knew he had committed adultery. One night, he was driven to go to the scaffold where Hester had been punished. When he climbed the scaffold, he cried out, hoping that someone would hear his cry. After a while, Hester and Pearl came and Dimmesdale invited them onto the scaffold. They came up and held Dimmesdale’s hand, causing him to release his guilt and feel connected with them for a short time. During this experience, a meteor streaked across the sky and left an “A” in the heavens. Dimmesdale thought that the “A” showed that he had to reveal his sin. Dimmesdale went home and wrote the best sermon he had ever made because he could now identify with the people of his church in sin. Hawthorne then updated Hester’s condition. The people of the Puritan community have begun to see the “A” in a different light because Hester has been excellent in helping the poor and others needing help in the community. Rather than meaning adultery, the “A” had begun to mean able. As a result, Chillingworth told Hester that some people wanted to have the letter removed from her chest when he saw her by the woods. Hester refused to have the letter taken off because she did not think that the town leaders had the authority to remove the mark of her sin. She also told Chillingworth that she wanted to reveal his identity as her husband to Dimmesdale.
Chapters 15-18
After Chillingworth left, Hester said that she hated him. Whether as a reaction or not, Pearl made an “A” on her own chest with seaweed and said that Dimmesdale had something on his chest as well. Pearl constantly asked Hester what the “A” meant and Hester lied about it. Soon after this, Hester and Pearl went into the woods to look for Dimmesdale. Pearl again showed peace in nature. Pearl asked Hester if her mark came from the Devil and if Dimmesdale was hiding his mark on his chest. The two characters saw Dimmesdale coming down the path and Hester sent Pearl to play in the woods. Hester told Dimmesdale that he needed to forgive himself and that Chillingworth was her husband. Hester took the scarlet “A” off of her dress. They then discussed the idea of fleeing their community together and Hester called Pearl to meet her father. As Pearl cautiously returned, her oneness in nature was showed most perfectly as the animals all came to her to be stroked and she glowed in nature’s light.
Chapters 19-21
As Pearl approached them, Hester and Dimmesdale argued about who Pearl looked like and Dimmesdale denied that she looked like him. Pearl came to the brook that was by Hester and Dimmesdale and acted as if it was a wall. Pearl started pointing at Hester’s bosom that was without the scarlet letter and angrily screamed. Hester put the letter back on and Pearl came to her. Dimmesdale gave her a kiss, but she wiped it off with water from the brook. Dimmesdale and Hester finalized their plans to return to England by boat and Dimmesdale returned to town physically and emotionally stronger. As he walked through town, Dimmesdale saw everything as if it was new. When he neared his house, though, he began to feel and act upon evil impulses. Upon entering his house, he went to finish his Election sermon and threw it into the fire. He began working furiously on a whole new sermon. Some time later, Hester and Pearl came to town for the Election sermon. Hester was told that Chillingworth had reserved a spot on the ship that she and Dimmesdale were going to take back to England.
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Chapters 22-24
After most of the townspeople had gathered in the square, a grand procession of military, government, and religious persons passed through the people and entered the church. Dimmesdale, who was in the procession, was strangely upbeat as he moved towards the church. After the procession, Pearl ran through the marketplace, winning the love of everyone she met. After Pearl returned to Hester, a group of people moved away from Hester and formed a circle around her. They all looked at her scarlet letter and the Indians who were there thought that the “A” was a sign of Hester being dignified in the community. People began to leave the church after the Election sermon and they said that it was Dimmesdale’s best sermon. Dimmesdale entered the town square looking weak and sick again. He climbed onto the scaffold and called Hester and Pearl to join him. He began to confess his sin when Chillingworth came up and tried to stop him. Dimmesdale ignored him and proceeded to reveal his own “A” that was carved into his chest. After confessing his part in the adultery, he died in Hester’s arms. Within the year, Chillingworth died and left Pearl the largest inheritance in the New World. Pearl and Hester moved away to England, but Hester returned to New England. She continued her work as a seamstress and helped the women of the community with their problems. When she died, Hester was buried beside Dimmesdale. Her tombstone was engraved with the words, “ON A FIELD,SABLE, THE LETTER A, GUILES,” making the image of a red “A” shining in the middle of blackness.
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