Scarlet Letter

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 6

The Scarlet Letter

Recap through discussion

Pick a keyword that you
think belongs to this novel

How can you link Pearl and the Scarlet Letter?

These chapters link Pearl even more explicitly to the scarlet letter. Hester dresses her daughter in “a crimson velvet tunic of a peculiar cut, abundantly embroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread.” Pearl and the embroidered letter are both beautiful in a rich, sensuous way that stands in contrast to the stiffness of Puritan society.
Indeed, the narrator explicitly tells the reader that Pearl is “the scarlet letter endowed with life.” The narrator tells us that Hester has worked to create an “analogy between the object of [Hester’s] affection and the emblem of her guilt and torture.”

This reinforces the contradictory nature of both the letter and Pearl, for just as Hester both loves and feels burdened by Pearl, her thoughts regarding the scarlet letter seem also to contain a touch of fondness. Certainly her attitude toward it is not one of uniform regret, and she may even harbor pleasant associations with the deeds that the letter symbolizes. The sin itself was both a guilty act and an act of affection, a problematic combination of love and “evil.”

There is talk going around about taking Pearl away from her mother. Why?

Bellingham's mansion and garden are clearly described. What does their state signify?

Puritans certainly didn’t seek to reject English culture as a whole, but it is nevertheless important that Bellingham has chosen to re-create a piece of the old world in the new. Bellingham’s ties to the world that the Puritans supposedly left behind suggest that he has brought with him the very things the Puritans sought to escape by leaving England: intolerance and a lack of freedom.

The state of his garden shows that the transition hasn't gone smoothly. The garden is in a state of decay and the English plants will not grow - the ideals brought from the old world don't work in the new settlement. Bellingham also cannot nurture and take care of things! His garden AND the society he is supposed to govern. 

Who is mistress Hibbins and what inequality does her character shine some light on?

Mistress Hibbins is the acknowledged witch who is Governor Bellingham’s sister. She speaks to Hester and Pearl when they leave the house and tries to get Hester to come to a meeting to meet the devil. 
Something is clearly awry in a society that allows a woman who admittedly engages in satanic practices to remain a protected and acknowledged member of the community, while it forces Hester, who has erred but once, to live as an outcast and in danger of losing her child.

Why is Chillingworth not able to cure reverend Dimmesdale?

Dimmesdale believes that Hester is less miserable because of the scarlet letter. Why?

What is the relationship between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale like in later chapters?

Chillingworth continues to play mind games with Dimmesdale, making his revenge as terrible as possible. The minister often regards his doctor with distrust and even loathing, but because he can assign no rational basis to his feelings, he dismisses them and continues to suffer.

Dimmesdale holds a vigil on the scaffold that Hester and Pearl were on years before. What happens then?

Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold. The pain in his breast causes him to scream aloud, and he worries that everyone in the town will wake up and come to look at him. Fortunately for Dimmesdale, the few townspeople who heard the cry took it for a witch’s voice.
Hester and Pearl walk past him. Dimmesdale invites them to join him on the scaffold, which they do. The three hold hands, forming an “electric chain.” The minister feels energized and warmed by their presence. Pearl innocently asks, “Wilt thou stand here with Mother and me, tomorrow noontide?” but the minister replies, “Not now, child, but at another time.” When she presses him to name that time, he answers, “At the great judgment day.”

Explain why the Scarlet Letter can clearly be seen as being part of the Romance genre.