The Scarlet Letter Review, Chapters XX-XXIV (20-24)
The Scarlet Letter Review, Chapters XX-XXIV (20-24)
Students,
In this final review I will focus on providing you with information on theme and literary elements, as well as specific quotes you should be able to ID. To read decent summaries of the assigned chapters,you can go to the link listed below. However, reading a summary is not a substitute for reading the novel. The beauty of The Scarlet Letter lies in the many subtle details Hawthorne weaves into the story.
http://www.shmoop.com/scarlet-letter/summary.html
Theme
A theme is a general concept or idea, such as love, hate, justice, sorrow, sin. One way to help you discover the theme in a work is to complete the following sentence: “This is a book about_____.”
Obviously, Sin is the major theme in The Scarlet Letter. But what , exactly, is Hawthorne trying to convey about sin?
I think a careful reader can conclude that Hawthorne was not primarily interested in the idea of “sin” in a religious sense, but he was very interested in the psychological and social consequences of sin on a person—how it can change personalities and behaviors. Another equally important aspect of sin that Hawthorne explores is the possibility of redemption (forgiveness, atonement, making up for..)
Think about all the effects that the sin of adultery had on the four main characters:
Hester Dimmesdale Chillingworth Pearl
isolation from community physical deterioration moral deterioration strange behavior
shame hidden shame,guilt revenge, hypocrisy isolation
loss of beauty, vitality hypocrisy
· For Hester, the consequence of sin is isolation from society. She does feel shame acutely! In fact, she wears it (the scarlet letter) and holds its little hand (Pearl) everywhere she goes. It is in the open, and thus, does not torment her inwardly. Her redemption is worked out throughout her life. She becomes a patient and unselfish giver to others, changing the meaning of the A over time. As an old woman, she is a respected advisor to Puritan women who have problems living up to the strict moral code of the Puritan theocracy. We see that Hester quietly triumphs in the end. Because her sin was in the open, she was able to learn from it and create a life of goodness from the shame.
· For Dimmesdale, the consequence of sin is mental pain caused by his hidden shame, made worse by the psychological torment inflicted by Chillingworth. Redemption comes to him only after he confesses “to the world” and dies. He makes his peace with God and man, even forgives Chillingworth. Somewhat like Hester, his shame made him a better person. For example, over time he became a brilliant preacher and a more compassionate and understanding pastor. Unlike her, he was unable to find inner peace in his lifetime because of the hidden sin eating away at him.
· For Chillingworth whose sin is obsession and revenge, the consequence is gradual shriveling of both his moral values his body. He becomes Satanic-looking over time( gleaming red eyes, a darkened face, a more pronounced hunched back. Redemption escapes him....or does it? Isn't this an interesting little bit of information given in Chapter 24???---We are told that Chillingworth left his vast fortune to Pearl (who KNEW he even HAD a vast fortune???) Perhaps as he faced death, he wanted to atone for his sin of revenge that virtually killed Dimmesdale. Therefore, he did the good deed of providing a life of comfort for the offspring of his unfaithful wife and her lover...interesting detail, Mr. Hawthorne!!! This goes to show that even readers in the 1840s enjoyed a good old soap opera plot!
Character:
Did you notice how many similarities and differences exist between Dimmesdale and Chillingworth?
As for backgrounds, they were both very well-educated men, having studied at the best European universities. They both had a desire to leave Europe and begin new lives in the New World. They both evidently love/loved Hester. As for how they behave in the novel, both are hypocrites, but in different ways. Dimmesdale destroys his sanity and health by trying to hide something while Chillingworth destroys his sanity and health by trying to expose something. Neither man appears to the outside world as they truly are (“Be true! Be true! Be true!...) Dimmedale, ironically, is in the business of “stamping out sin” (except he can't deal with his own). Chilingworth, ironically, is in the business of healing, yet he is harming Dimmesdale. In many other respects, the two are opposites. Intellectually, Chillingworth uses all his powers/skills to torture Dimmesdale. Intellectually, Dimmesdale uses his power/skills for the spiritual well-being of his congregation.
That leads one to the question of who is the bigger sinner? Chillingworth can argue that his revenge is justified by the sin done to him. But his sin (revenge) is willful—pre-meditated, on purpose.--he chooses to destroy Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale, poor man, commits one sinful act in his entire good life-- a sin of passion, of the flesh. But, instead of owning up to it, he cares too much about what people think of him and his career as a pastor. He, too, chooses to hide his sin. Therefore, it is difficult for a reader to judge which one was the worse sinner. It depends on one's own viewpoint and/or religious beliefs.
You decide.
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Read the interesting character analyses of these two men on Shmoop
http://www.shmoop.com/scarlet-letter/characters.html . I also recommend reading the character analysis of Pearl---quite funny!
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Symbols—no new symbolism appears in these final chapters, but those already introduced are reinforced
· forest (Chapter 20) —Since Hawthorne has already established the forest as a symbol of a “moral maze,” where Satan resides, now we see Dimmesdale symbolically escaping his moral dilemma as he heads home after he and Hester make their plans to leave Boston. He is a new man...he has uncommon energy and a bounce in his step. This change in him leads toward the final confession in Chapter 23 when he can no longer maintain his hypocrisy of “wearing one face to himself, and another to the multitude.”
· scaffold—Recall that all four characters appear on/at the scaffold in Chapters 1, 12, 23. In the first scaffold scene, H stands alone, holding three-month-old P for three hours, while the public mocks her and important officials lecture her about her sin. D is on the balcony with these men. C watches H from the audience. In the second scaffold scene, D has climbed the scaffold under cover of darkness, but invites H and P to stand with him when he hears them passing by. C discovers the three there (and plants a glove?). In the third and final scaffold scene, D climbs the scaffold with H's help and stands in public view with his lover and their daughter. C had tried to prevent him from going up on the scaffold. These three scenes are the crucial scenes in terms of the novel's themes, serving to highlight the relationships that these four characters have to the themes. ** Interesting observation: Chillingworth never actually gets upon the scaffold during any of the three scenes.
· scarlet letter---appears on D's chest for the whole world to see (Puritans, Indians, pirates, sailors—all were in town for Election Day).
Both H and D are buried under a tombstone that bears a heraldic shield with the description:
“On a field, sable, the letter A, gules.” [ In the ancient art form of heraldry--designing coats- of-arms-- the terminology is as follows: field=background of the shield; sable=the color black; gules=the color red; colors are called tinctures]
Foreshadowing
Dimmesdale's confession and revelation of the A on his chest is foreshadowed by the old witch-lady, Mistress Hibbins. She has appeared sporadically throughout the novel to lend an evil atmosphere and influence. Hawthorne gives her supernatural powers. She often hints to the characters of future events and always reminds them how powerful Satan is. She acts like a recruiter for Satan, thinking that H, P, and D would make good disciples. They are NOT interested, of course. In Chapter 23 Mistress Hibbins reveals Satan's plan when she says:“He hath a way of ordering matters so that the mark shall be disclosed, in open daylight to the eyes of all the world!”
Irony
D appears strong and healthy during the procession (parade) and preaches the best sermon of his career. Then, he publicly “ruins” himself by confessing to adultery! All his strength and life force leave him. The reader would think that after confessing, he should feel free, unburdened, and ready to begin a new life (if he can avoid punishment!). Alas....ironically, he dies on the scaffold, after exposing the scarlet letter he bears on his own chest. Also ironic is the fact that the only place he can escape or free himself from C is on the scaffold (confessing!).C was prepared to follow them back to the Old World to continue to torment D.
It is also ironic that a sin becomes the defining feature of D's and C's lives. Neither one lives very long after the secret comes to light—their purposes for living (hiding and exposing, respectively) are no more.
Ironically P's character is transformed by the kiss she gives her dying father at the end! Now she knows who she is, even though she will not have her father with her. The truth has set her free! Gone forever is the wild child who is difficult for H to control, the aggressive outcast, prone to sudden and strange outbursts. Hawthorne tells us she will be grow up okay--”amid human joy and sorrow” ! We are happy for her! (we later learn she becomes the richest young woman in the New World and marries a nobleman back in the Old World—WOW!)
Quotations: Be able to identify the speaker in each of the quotes below. The narrator MAY be considered one of the speakers:
· “And how found you that godly man, the Apostle Eliot? But methinks, dear Sir, you look pale; as if the travel throughout the wilderness had been too sore for you.”
· “They say, child, thou art of the lineage of the Prince of the Air! Wilt thou ride with me, some fine night, to see thy father?”
· “People of New England!”
· “Hadst thou sought the whole earth over, ...there was no one place so secret--no high place nor lowly place where thou couldst have escaped me--save on this very scaffold!”
· “Yea, to another world. Heaven grant it be a better one; for in good sooth, I hardly think to tarry with my flock through the flitting seasons of another year!”
· “All shall be well! Do not blacken your fame and perish in dishonor! I can yet save you! Would you bring infamy on your sacred profession?”
· “Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!”
The End.
I hope you enjoyed reading The Scarlet Letter and learned much about navigating your way through great literature. Do you feel you increased your understanding of literary techniques such as characterization, theme, symbolism, irony, and more? I hope so. You can apply what you learned to the reading of any great work of literature in the future. Happy Reading.