Character Analysis
posted by AFrankart @ 2:27 PM
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The Scarlet Letter Study Guide
11 Honors English By Andrew Frankart, Nate McCullough, and Taylor Patterson
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
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Hester
It seems like at the beginning we are never really know much about Hester until about the chapter when she is pleading for Pearl to stay with her in the Governor’s hall. Previous to that all we know is that she committed adultery, and that she had been married before. After the governor’s hall we start to see Hester as a very motherly character, not just to Pearl but to the poor. She cares for those that no one will really give the time to. Whether this is because she is also an outcast, or because this is her kind of penance for the sin that she is accused of committing. She can be seen as very brave in many senses, first of all because she did not run away from her sin, and secondly because she did not cover up her letter from the world. I think that is the lesson we can learn from Pearl is that to be able to reconcile ourselves first we must lose ourselves to everyone else.
Chillingworth
Roger Chillingworth is Hester Prynne’s husband, he never reveals this however most likely because he does not want to be associated with her after seeing that she has committed adultery because he had not been good enough for her. However the reader can interpret this action differently as well, he may have not said anything right away for fear that she would be executed. Through the novel he finds that Dimmesdale is Hester’s lover, he then tortures him by leaving hints that the truth will come out and he will be ruined. Jealously was probably the driving force behind this, because he says that he had known before he married Hester that she would one day wear the letter on her bosom, meaning that she would find a better man. He is often referred to as the Dark Man, or the Devil. When he first finds Dimmesdale to be the father, he haunts him, but as the novel progresses he becomes obsessed and lives only to see the fall of Dimmesdale. When Dimmesdale dies Chillingworth follows soon after because torturing him became all that he lived for and after his death Chillingworth’s life lost meaning and purpose.
Pearl
Pearl's character is one of symbolism. Pearl is the living reminder of sin to Hester and is at the same time Hester's reason to live. Pearl is different from everyone else because she was created by passion and sin. She is connected in a special way with nature and shows her love for nature often, whether in her play or in her normal behavior. Pearl further shows her role as a symbol when she finally kisses Dimmesdale. The book says that in her kiss, a curse was broken. Dimmesdale's guilt was released and Pearl completed her mission to remind Hester of her sin on a daily basis. Pearl was normal and married at the end of a book because her curse of elfishness was broken and she could become a normal woman.
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