What happens in Chapter 3 of the Scarlet Letter?
The Scarlet Letter Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Scarlet Letter, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Suddenly as Hester looks out into the crowd she recognizes Roger Chillingworth, her husband, standing beside an Indian at the edge of the crowd.
What is the setting of the Scarlet Letter?
The Scarlet Letter. The Scarlet Letter is set in Boston in the 1600s, prior to American Independence. At the time, Boston was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which had been established after the first group of English settlers arrived in Plymouth in 1620.
How does the Scarlet Letter relate to us today?
The Scarlet Letter is difficult to understand in light of today's culture and setting. But when we look at the setting that it is placed in then what takes place makes a lot more sense. The Puritan belief that sin must be rooted out of their community explains why they punished her sin so harshly.
How can I track the themes in the Scarlet Letter?
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Scarlet Letter, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Suddenly as Hester looks out into the crowd she recognizes Roger Chillingworth, her husband, standing beside an Indian at the edge of the crowd.
What happened in chapter 3 Scarlet Letter?
Inquiring, the man learns of Hester's history, her crime (adultery), and her sentence: to stand on the scaffold for three hours and to wear the symbolic letter A for the rest of her life. The stranger also learns that Hester refuses to name the man with whom she had the sexual affair.
What is the setting of The Scarlet Letter?
The novel is set in a village in Puritan New England. The main character is Hester Prynne, a young woman who has borne a child out of wedlock. Hester believes herself a widow, but her husband, Roger Chillingworth, arrives in New England very much alive and conceals his identity.
What is the title of Chapter 3 Scarlet Letter?
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. "Chapter 3: “The Recognition”." The Scarlet Letter. Lit2Go Edition. 1850.
What is the setting of Chapter 2 in The Scarlet Letter?
Summary: Chapter 2: The Market-Place As the crowd watches, Hester Prynne, a young woman holding an infant, emerges from the prison door and makes her way to a scaffold (a raised platform), where she is to be publicly condemned.
What is the setting of The Scarlet Letter Chapter 1?
In this first chapter, Hawthorne sets the scene of the novel — Boston of the seventeenth century. It is June, and a throng of drably dressed Puritans stands before a weather-beaten wooden prison.
Where in the colony does the opening chapter take place?
Where in the colony does the opening chapter take place? Boston, Massachusetts and it begins in front of a prison.
Who is Hester's baby daddy?
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale In a moment of weakness, he and Hester became lovers. Although he will not confess it publicly, he is the father of her child.
Who is Pearl's father?
The novel's climax takes place in Chapter XXIII when Reverend Dimmesdale dies after publicly confessing to being Pearl's father.
Why did Hester name her child Pearl?
Hester names her daughter Pearl because she is beautiful and was created through pain.
What happened in chapter 4 of The Scarlet Letter?
Summary: Chapter 4: The Interview Hester knows his true identity—his gaze makes her shudder—and she initially refuses to drink his potion. She thinks that Chillingworth might be poisoning her, but he assures her that he wants her to live so that he can have his revenge.
What happens in Chapter 5 of The Scarlet Letter?
Her term of imprisonment over, Hester is now free to go anywhere in the world, yet she does not leave Boston; instead, she chooses to move into a small, seaside cottage on the outskirts of town. She supports herself and Pearl through her skill as a seamstress.
What is the plot of Chapter 2 in The Scarlet Letter?
When chapter two begins, Hester Prynne has been found guilty of adultery. She has born a child of this liaison and is in prison with the baby, something horrifying by today's standards. As part of her punishment, she must stand on the scaffolding and be viewed by the townspeople, shamed for her sin.
Why is Hester a living sermon?
The town has made Hester into a “living sermon,” as Chillingworth puts it, because she is stripped of her humanity and made to serve the needs of the community. Her punishment is expressed in violent terms. Reverend Wilson relates an argument he had with Dimmesdale about whether to force Hester to confess in public. Dimmesdale spoke of such an action in terms of a rape, arguing that “it were wronging the very nature of woman to force her to lay open her heart’s secrets in such broad daylight, and in presence of so great a multitude.”
What does the narrator tell us about the ignorant men?
The narrator tells us that these ignorant men “had no right” to “meddle with a question of human guilt, passion and anguish.”. Dimmesdale, on the other hand, seems to know something of the human heart. He is compassionate toward Hester and is able to convince Bellingham and Wilson to spare her any harsher punishment.
What did Dimmesdale say about rape?
Dimmesdale spoke of such an action in terms of a rape, arguing that “it were wronging the very nature of woman to force her to lay open her heart’s secrets in such broad daylight, and in presence of so great a multitude.”. The men who sit in judgment of Hester are not only hypocritical but also ignorant.
What does Hester say about her child?
Hester says that her child will seek a heavenly father and will never know an earthly one. Reverend Wilson then steps in and delivers a condemnatory sermon on sin, frequently referring to Hester’s scarlet letter, which seems to the crowd to glow and burn. Hester bears the sermon patiently, hushing Pearl when she begins to scream. At the conclusion of the sermon, Hester is led back into the prison.
Why does Hester refuse to drink Chillingworth's potion?
Chillingworth has promised the jailer that he can make Hester more “amenable to just authority,” and he now offers her a cup of medicine. Hester knows his true identity—his gaze makes her shudder —and she initially refuses to drink his potion. She thinks that Chillingworth might be poisoning her, but he assures her that he wants her to live so that he can have his revenge. In the candid conversation that follows, he chastises himself for thinking that he, a misshapen bookworm, could keep a beautiful wife like Hester happy.
What does Hester see in the crowd?
In the crowd that surrounds the scaffold, Hester suddenly spots her husband, who sent her to America but never fulfilled his promise to follow her. Though he is dressed in a strange combination of traditional European clothing and Native American dress, she is struck by his wise countenance and recognizes his slightly deformed shoulders.
Why does Chillingworth chastise himself?
In the candid conversation that follows, he chastises himself for thinking that he, a misshapen bookworm, could keep a beautiful wife like Hester happy.
What Led to Chapter 3 of The Scarlet Letter?
Hester Prynne, a resident of Boston in Massachusetts colony, has been found guilty of adultery. She will not reveal the name of the baby's father. As part of her punishment, she must stand on a platform for the town to come shame her. She also must embroider an 'A' for adultery on her dress. Hester angers the townspeople by not appearing shamed as she stands on the platform, holding her infant daughter Pearl. Also, she has made the 'A' on her dress very elaborate, embellished, and rich. It is in contrast to the dark, severe, plain clothing of the Puritans of Boston. Unbeknownst to the Puritans, Hester has a husband from whom she has been separated for a long while. As she stands on the platform, she thinks of her life before Boston and she thinks of her husband. The narrator notes the contrast of the rose by the prison door to the depressing presentation of the town and the contrast of Hester with the Puritans.
What does Hester see in the crowd?
She recognizes him and he makes a gesture to silence her. She looks away, squeezing Pearl so tightly that the baby cries out. Hester is horrified to see this stranger, standing in the crowd and witnessing her shaming. The stranger is equally shocked and horrified at seeing Hester not just being shamed, but holding an infant.
What is the story of Hester?
He is told that Hester had arrived from England, the wife of an academic who had remained in Amsterdam (the Puritans had been alternately kicked out of England, welcomed in Holland , and then kicked out of Holland before many settled in the colonies of America). She lived for two years in Boston before turning to sin, the man tells the stranger. Then the stranger asks who the baby's father is, and the townsman tells him that Hester will not say and that perhaps her husband should come from Europe and ask her himself. The man also expresses disappointment that Hester did not receive the maximum punishment under law--execution. The stranger suggests that perhaps this punishment is better, because now she is a living sermon against sin.
What does Hawthorne's portrayal of Chillingworth emphasize?
Hawthorne's portrayal of Chillingworth emphasizes his physical deformity. More important, Chillingworth's misshapen body reflects (or symbolizes) the evil in his soul, which builds as the novel progresses. In this chapter, Hawthorne provides hints of just how obsessed Chillingworth will become with punishing Dimmesdale.
What does Dimmesdale ask Hester to do?
In his speech, Dimmesdale asks Hester to recognize his "accountability" in addressing her, and he begs her to do what he cannot do himself. Publicly, he is her spiritual leader, and, as such, he is responsible for her moral behavior. Privately, however, he was her lover, and he shares the blame of the horrible situation that she is in. He then admonishes her, as her spiritual leader, to name her accomplice so that her soul might find peace on earth and, more important, so that she might better her chance for salvation after her death. When he then goes on to "charge" her with naming the transgressor, we understand that he is privately pleading with her to expose him publicly and thereby help ensure his salvation, for without public repentance salvation is not attainable.
What is the meaning of Dimmesdale's speech to Hester?
Dimmesdale's one-paragraph speech to Hester reveals more about his character than any description of his physical body and nervous habits that Hawthorne provides. Knowing that he was Hester's sexual partner and is Pearl's father, the speech that he gives is ripe with double meanings.
What is the dichotomy between Dimmesdale's public speech and personal meaning?
The dichotomy between Dimmesdale's public speech and personal meaning is most evident in the phrase "believe me." This phrase comes directly following his plea that Hester not take into consideration any feelings she might still have for him. It also follows acknowledgment — privately to himself, but through public speech — that it would be better for him to step down "from a high place" and publicly stand beside her on the scaffold. Ultimately, his official, public duty and his private, personal intention are one and the same: to admonish Hester to expose her lover's — his own — immorality because he is too morally weak to do so himself.
What does the man learn about Hester's history?
Inquiring, the man learns of Hester's history, her crime (adultery), and her sentence: to stand on the scaffold for three hours and to wear the symbolic letter A for the rest of her life. The stranger also learns that Hester refuses to name the man with whom she had the sexual affair. This knowledge greatly upsets him, and he vows that Hester's unnamed partner "will be known! — he will be known! — he will be known!"
What does Hawthorne's portrayal of Chillingworth emphasize?
Hawthorne’s portrayal of Chillingworth emphasizes his physical deformity. More important, Chillingworth’s misshapen body reflects (or symbolizes) the evil in his soul, which builds as the novel progresses. In this chapter, Hawthorne provides hints of just how obsessed Chillingworth will become with punishing Dimmesdale.
What is the meaning of Dimmesdale's speech to Hester?
Dimmesdale’s one-paragraph speech to Hester reveals more about his character than any description of his physical body and nervous habits that Hawthorne provides. Knowing that he was Hester’s sexual partner and is Pearl’s father, the speech that he gives is ripe with double meanings. On one level, he gives a public chastisement of Hester for not naming her lover; on another level, he makes a personal plea to her to name him as her lover and Pearl’s father because he is too morally weak to do so himself. Ironically, what is initially intended to be a speech about Hester becomes more a commentary about his own sinful behavior.
What does the man learn about Hester?
Inquiring, the man learns of Hester’s history, her crime (adultery), and her sentence: to stand on the scaffold for three hours and to wear the symbolic letter A for the rest of her life. The stranger also learns that Hester refuses to name ...
Where is the Scarlet Letter set?
The Scarlet Letter is set in Boston in the 1600s, prior to American Independence. At the time, Boston was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which had been established after the first group of English settlers arrived in Plymouth in 1620.
Why did the English leave Boston?
Many of these individuals had left England because they were dissatisfied with the Anglican Church and sought religious freedom for their dissenting beliefs.
