THE SCARLET LETTER

THE PRISON DOOR

• People standing outside prison
• Settlers built cemetery and prison first
• Rosebush contrary to other buildings
• "Nature's kindness"

The Market-Place

• Hester exits prison with 3 month old Pearl
• Goes to scaffold for public shaming
• Women loudly discuss letter
• A= "Adulterer"
• Hester has flashbacks of earlier life

The Recognition

• Hester and husband meet eye
• Husband makes gesture to keep quiet
• Husband asks another man about Hester's crime
• Hester won't reveal name of sinner, has to wear "A"
• Dimmesdale introduced; demands Hester to name father

THE INTERVIEW

• Chillingworth introduced as Hester's husband
• Hester initially refuses his treatment, thinks poison
• Chillingworth more interested in revenge than death
• Hester won't give up names, Chillingworth keeps own identity secret
• Chillingworth "Black Man"

HESTER AT HER NEEDLE

• Hester stays in Boston after prison sentence
• Settles in cabin at edge of town; shunned from society
• Takes up needlework as hobby
• Too "impure" to do embroidery for brides
• Did charity work, people bit the hand that fed them

PEARL

• Named because she was born out of sin
• Very moody, defiant, and mischievous, worries Hester
• Pearl is an outcast of society, described as "imp of evil"
• Knows she was raised without "Heavenly Father"
• Fascinated by scarlet letter, believed by Hester to be spawn of Satan

THE GOVERNOR'S HALL

• Hester goes to Hall to find out about Pearl rumors
• Believed by townspeople to be demon-child, should be taken away from Hester
• Governor's Hall built like aristocratic English mansion, contradicts Puritan values
• Pearl fascinated by suit of armor, Hester frightened by scarlet letter in reflection
• Pearl demands to see red rose outside of a window

THE ELF-CHILD AND THE MINISTER

• Chillingworth, Bellingham, Wilson, Dimmesdale see Pearl
• Ask Hester why she should keep child, Pearl's lesson
• Dimmesdale speaks up, says Pearl is a sin and a blessing
• Hester gets to keep Pearl, Pearl begins to like Dimmesdale
• Mistress Hibbins invites Hester to witch gathering, Pearl saved Hester

THE LEECH

• Chillingworth kept name identity secret when coming to Boston
• Learned natural medicinal practices from Native Americans
• Bloodletters used leeches to draw out infected blood
• Time passes, Chillingworth suspected of being the Devil
• Dimmesdale sick, lives with Chillingworth so he can treat him

THE LEECH AND HIS PATIENT

• Chillingworth trying to find root of Dimmesdale's sickness
• Dimmesdale becomes suspicious when Chillingworth delves into personal life
• Gets into argument with Dimmesdale one day about secrets
• Pearl notices the two from the graveyard, wants Hester to stay away from Chillingworth
• Chillingworth later finds something on Dimmesdale's chest while he is sleeping

THE INTERIOR OF A HEART

• Chillingworth and Dimmesdale make up, Dimmesdale continues to suffer
• Dimmesdale gives sermons on sin, feeling pressure of his own crime
• Becomes delusional, begins to torture himself by whipping himself and starving
• Decides to stand on same scaffold as Hester did during her punishment

THE MINISTER'S VIGIL

• Dimmesdale screams on scaffold, laughs, then hears Pearl laugh
• Hester and Pearl join him and link hands, Pearl wants him to stand there tomorrow
• Meteor lights up sky in the shape of a red "A"
• Chillingworth sees them while walking and tries to get Dimmesdale to come down
• Two return home and Dimmesdale writes a very powerful sermon

ANOTHER VIEW OF HESTER

• Pearl is now seven, Hester more involved in society
• Does lots of charity work, "A" now means "Able"
• Doesn't have same fiery spirit, more quiet and perceptive of society
• Begins to think about role of women in society
• Also feels the need to tell Dimmesdale about Chillingworth

HESTER AND THE PHYSICIAN

• Hester speaks to Chillingworth on the beach
• Chillingworth notes that the town may let her remove letter
• Hester refuses to remove letter
• Hester reveals her plans for confessing to Dimmesdale
• Chillingworth explains that he knows he is evil, but he is stuck on path of revenge

HESTER AND PEARL

• Hester comes to conclusion of hating Chillingworth
• Pearl made "A" to wear out of seaweed, wants to show Hester
• Hester asks Pearl of the letter's meaning and begins to discuss Dimmesdale
• Decides that Pearl is still too young to know
• Pearl keeps asking about significance of letter and Dimmesdale

A FOREST WALK

• Hester meets Dimmesdale in forest
• Pearl makes connection between the sun and the "A"
• Asks Hester again about "Black Man" and scarlet letter
• Dimmesdale is seen clutching his heart
• Pearl goes to play, but wonders if the "Black Man" is connected to Dimmesdale

THE PASTOR AND HIS PARISHIONER

• Hester reveals that Chillingworth is her husband
• Dimmesdale begins to blame Hester for his pain, Hester comforts him
• Eventually forgives Hester, but worries about Chillingworth and their secret
• Hester believes he won't tell, but wants Dimmesdale to distance himself
• Two agree to go to Europe on a ship and live as family with Pearl

A FLOOD OF SUNSHINE

• Dimmesdale and Hester both healed by decision
• Dimmesdale seems to feel better, Hester removes "A" from chest
• Lets down hair and sun shines on her with absence of the letter
• Hester calls to Pearl to deliver news
• Pearl becomes cautious

THE CHILD AT THE BROOK-SIDE

• Pearl notices Hester has removed the letter
• Throws fit, refuses to calm down until Hester puts it back on
• Hester ties up hair and wears letter, her features becoming stoic again
• Pearl approaches, asks again if Dimmesdale will be seen publicly with her and Hester
• Dimmesdale won't but kisses Pearl, who runs to creek to wash it off

THE MINISTER IN A MAZE

• Dimmesdale returns to town, familiar sights look new to him
• Feels urged to start saying bad things about the church
• Runs into Mistress Hibbins, who offers to go to forest with him
• Dimmesdale believes he may have come into contact with the Devil
• Returns home and tells Chillingworth he no longer needs his care

THE NEW ENGLAND HOLIDAY

• People gathered in town to celebrate new governor
• Pearl questions Hester on why Dimmesdale won't be seen with them
• Hester doesn't hear, thinking about escaping from Chillingworth
• Sailor reveals to Hester that Chillingworth will join them on the ship
• Hester sees Chillingworth smirking at her from a distance

THE PROCESSION

• Ceremonial parade starts, Hester upset over Puritan power
• Pearl doesn't recognize Dimmesdale, Hester begins to doubt plans to leave
• Mistress Hibbins talks to Hester and Pearl, inviting Pearl to a witch's ceremony
• Pearl gives message to Hester that Chillingworth will be help bring Dimmesdale on board
• Hester notices that everybody in town is staring at her letter

THE REVELATION OF THE SCARLET LETTER

• Dimmesdale sermon: God will choose people of New England
• Sermon ends, Dimmesdale invites Hester and Pearl to scaffold
• Uses Hester for support, confesses his adultery
• Reveals something red on his chest and falls down
• Hester wonders if they will see each other in the afterlife, Dimmesdale dies

CONCLUSION

• Many people believed a scarlet letter was on Dimmesdale's chest, some saw nothing
• Believed it was an effect of Chillingworth's magic
• Chillingworth dies a year later, Pearl gets large amount of inheritance from him
• Hester and Pearl dissappear, Hester becomes legend
• Hester returns to cottage years later, dies and shares headstone with Dimmesdale

HESTER PRYNNE

• Tall, fair-skinned, elegant, long and dark hair
• Once very wild spirited, became dedicated to Pearl
• Looked down upon, respected by end of story
• Eventually became role model for women, feminist

PEARL

• Dark eyes, fair-skinned, supposedly very beautiful
• Very perceptive for her age, fixates on Hester's scarlet "A"
• Was a symbol of evil in society, Hester said later that Pearl was her greatest gift
• Pearl says she was "Plucked from a rose outside the prison"

CHILLINGWORTH

• Old, has deformed and crooked shoulders
• Came to Boston as a leech (doctor), was motivated by misery of others
• Representation of black evil, referred to as the "Black Man"
• Driven by revenge, becomes feeble and dies after Dimmesdale dies

THEME DEVELOPEMENT

• The Scarlet Letter started out representing sin.
• Over time, symbolized hope.
• Conformity: Hester went against all of their ideas of conformity.
• Forced her to see flaws in Puritan society and roles of women.

MORGAN MACDONALD & JESSA BUTTERFIELD

• Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.