Table of Contents
How old is Pearl when Dimmesdale dies?
seven years
Why does Hester go to the forest?
Hester and Pearl go to the forest because Hester is determined to warn Dimmesdale of the threat Chillingworth poses. She travels to the forest because she knows Dimmesdale will be returning that way from visiting the Indians (Native Americans). It will provide a private place for them to talk unobserved.
How did Dimmesdale get the A on his chest?
He discovers that Dimmesdale, out of the guilt and sadness he feels from what occurs with Hester, has carved a letter “A” on his chest. It forms a letter ‘A’ in the sky, mirroring the badge of shame Hester must wear. …
What are Dimmesdale’s last words?
Dimmesdale’s very last words are “Praised be his name! His will be done! Farewell!” These words are significant because they were spoken after his confession, and then he died.
Does Dimmesdale kill himself?
Dimmesdale cannot bear the hypocrisy of preaching to his congregation after committing such a serious sin, but he cannot reveal himself either, because Hester does not want him to. Forced to keep his sin a secret, his guilt eats him alive, making him ill. Moments after his confession, he dies in Hester’s arms.
Why does Pearl seem not to be a human child?
Why does Pearl not seem to be a human child? She seemed like a fairy that, after play it’s tricks for a while on the cottage floor would flit away with a mocking smile.
What does pearl symbolize in The Scarlet Letter?
Pearl is a sort of living version of her mother’s scarlet letter. Yet, even as a reminder of Hester’s “sin,” Pearl is more than a mere punishment to her mother: she is also a blessing. She represents not only “sin” but also the vital spirit and passion that engendered that sin.
Why didn’t Dimmesdale reveal his sin?
Arthur Dimmesdale did not confess his sins for all the wrong reasons. He didn’t confess for mostly two reasons those being: his belief that man did not judge other men but only God can do that or that he will better serve his people with a sinful heart and not a sinful appearance.
Why does pearl not recognize her mother?
In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl doesn’t recognize her mother because Hester has removed the scarlet letter and put her hair down. Having resolved to leave America and start a new life in Europe with Dimmesdale, Hester has finally felt confident enough to rid herself of the public symbol of her shame.
How is Hester shunned by the townspeople?
How do the townspeople treat Hester and how does she react? The townspeople all look down on Hester and publicly disrespect her. When she is mocked, she feels insulted but never tries to retaliate. She comes more humble and charitable after having the revelation that everyone is guilty of having sin in their hearts.
How is Pearl a blessing Hester?
However, in the Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl is seen by many as a demon or devil-child because she is the embodiment of her mother’s sin. Although Pearl does get mad, she is a blessing for her mother by protecting her, connecting Dimmesdale to be with her, and gives Hester a new outlook on life.
Why does Hester help the poor?
She gives away all her spare money to the poor, on people who actually have more than she does. She also makes garments for the poor, and her charity is perhaps a form of penance for her sins. Besides using the money she earns as a seamstress to support herself and Pearl, Hester also uses it to help the poor.
Does Hester feel guilty?
Hawthorne’s focus of attention is the effect guilt and shame has on Hester and Dimmesdale. One of them, Hester, suffers from guilt while her partner, Dimmesdale, suffers from shame. This is due to the way in which they deal with the act of adultery.
What symbol has Hester become?
Hester Prynne first embodies the community’s “shame” and through her penitence, she becomes a symbol of “able[ness].” One might say she outwardly displays an ability to “publicly” defeat her “private urges.”
What does Chillingworth see when he finds Dimmesdale asleep?
At the end of Chapter 10 when Dimmesdale fell asleep, Roger Chillingworth “thrust aside the vestment that, hitherto, had always covered it from the professional eye.” What did he see? He saw the letter A which Dimmesdale had been cutting into his chest from the moment Hester was punished for their sin.
What color does Hester dress pearl in?
Much to the consternation of her Puritan society, Hester dresses Pearl in outfits of gold or red or both. Even when she goes to Governor Bellingham’s to plead for her daughter’s custody, Hester dresses Pearl in a crimson velvet tunic.
How does Hester Prynne dress?
Typical Puritan Apparel When Hester brings Pearl to the governor’s house, Hester presents her as “arraying in a crimson velvet tunic, of a particular cut, abundantly embroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread” (82). Hester’s wore a simple and dull garment, and Pearl wore a fine garment.
What garments is Hester not allowed to sew?
Hester Prynne, who bears the mark of an adultress, is not allowed to embroider a bridal veil which will cover the “pure blushes of a bride” because her sin, “which society frowned upon,” is connected to the basic relationship of man and woman.
How is Pearl dressed and what is her dress compared to?
How is Pearl dressed, and what is her dress compared to? Pearl is wearing a scarlet dress with gold embroidery. She is compared to the living version of the scarlet letter.
What happened to Pearl Scarlet Letter?
In a rather ironic ending, Pearl, the “elf-child” becomes the most human in the final scaffold scene. Having inherited property from Chillingworth, she has become the “richest heiress of her day, in the New World.” With such riches, she may have married well, but her mother has taken her away to Europe.
Why does Hester ask Pearl Art Thou my child?
Explain the ambiguity concerning Pearl’s background. 4. Why does Hester ask Pearl, “Art thou my child?” (Pg. Hester believes that, while society punishes her for sinning, God has a different reaction.
How does Hester earn a living?
Hester Prynne, heroine and protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, lives alone with her infant daughter, Pearl, in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She manages to make a living to support herself and her daughter by sewing and embroidering for others. Hester becomes a seamstress.
Who is the most guilty in the scarlet letter?
Arthur Dimmesdale
What does the scarlet letter mean to Hester quotes?
Even though no one makes her wear the scarlet letter (“the symbol”) anymore, she chooses to do so. This quote shows Hester finally becoming resigned to how much her past defines her, and being at peace with the choices she has made.
Is Scarlet Letter A true story?
No, The Scarlet Letter is not a true story. However, Hawthorne took actual events and attitudes of Puritan America revealed in historical records and infused them into his work, exposing elements of truth and lending credibility to his historical novel.
Why does Hester dress pearl so nicely?
Just as the scarlet “A” that Hester is forced to wear is turned by her skill with the needle into a symbol of beauty and finery, so Pearl, the illegitimate child of an illicit and unlawful union, is a figure of beauty and is arrayed in all finery by her mother.
Did Chillingworth kill Dimmesdale?
But both say physician Roger Chillingworth used poison to murder the Rev. Arthur Dimmesdale, the preacher who fathered a child by adulteress Hester Prynne. Chillingworth was Prynne’s husband.
Why does Pearl finally kiss Dimmesdale?
So, when Dimmesdale kisses Pearl, he truthfully acknowledges her as his daughter; therefore, Pearl kisses him in like recognition as she ceases to be a symbol of her parents’ adultery and becomes human, in acceptance and forgiveness of Dimmesdale, and in weeping human tears for the first time in the narrative.