Character Analysis

*Hester Prynne- is the protagonist of the novel. She is the wearer of the Scarlet Letter A. She committed adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale but will not reveal him to the village. She gives birth to their daughter named, Pearl. Hester is married to Roger Chillingsworth (not his real name). He does not allow anyone to know his true identity. Hester is passionate but very strong at the same time. She has faith in herself. She does not believe she did anything wrong because she loves Dimmesdale.

*Pearl- Pearl is the daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale created through their adultery. She is seen by all as a symbol of their sin. She is not an ordinary child. She is very elfish and some think that she is possessed by a demon. She has great insight and ultimately brings her father to his confession.

*Roger Chillingsworth- he is married to Hester but changes his name so that people never know the connection between the two. He is the antagonist in the novel. His ultimate goal is to seek revenge on Dimmesdale. Revealing his secret would be too easy. Chillingsworth becomes obsessed with working on Dimmesdale's guilt. He knows that Dimmesdale's hidden guilt will destroy him. However, he does not know that by doing this he is destroying himself.

*Arthur Dimmesdale- is a very well liked puritan minister. He commits adultery with Hester resulting in their daughter Pearl. He says that the revelation of his sin will destroy the congregation but really he cannot face up to his wrongful actions. His hidden sin and guilt begin to weaken him. By the end of the novel he knows that he must tell everyone the truth. He stands with Hester and Pearl in public and after his final speech of truth he dies.

Chapters 22-24

The procession finally begins. The most startling fixation of this procession is the health of Dimmesdale. He seems to be glowing with health and enthusiasm. He appears as if he could do anything. The sight of him is startling to all who have known for the past seven years. He had been thin and sickly for several years. The procession finally reaches its destination and Dimmesdale delivers his speech to the crowd. His speech was the best speech he had ever given. It was full of thoughtful inspiration. It glorified the crowd.
After Dimmesdale gives his speech his energy and health seem to abandon him. He is full of life and energy as he marches in the procession and gives his glorifying speech. Afterward, he looks frail and worn again. All of his previous energy has seemed to have lapsed out of him. He tells Pearl and Hester to come to him. Pearl readily accepts his hand. She has waited for so long for him to hold her hand in public and not in the shadow of the forest. Hester helps him climb the steps to the scaffold. As he lays dying he tells everyone the truth about his love for Hester Prynne. Chillingworth tries to stop Dimmesdale but he is determined to tell the truth once and for all. “Is not this better,” murmured he, “than what we dreamed of in the forest (249).” Dimmesdale knew that he would have to tell the truth and get the burden of his off of his heart and soul. He then reveals his scarlet letter to the crowd. He tells the crowd that he has sinned and that all people sin. His address is ended when he dies tragically on the scaffold with the two people in the world that he loves the most.
After Dimmesdale reveals his secret Chillingsworth seems to die spiritually. All of the purpose that he bestowed in his life for the past seven years is gone. His obsession has just died on the floor in front of him. A year later he dies and leaves his fortune to Pearl. He never resented Pearl. She moved away and the text indicates that she got married and started a family. Hester eventually moved back to the puritan village. She lived out the rest of her life there. I am not completely sure what her motivation in doing this was. I think that perhaps part of her died along with Dimmesdale. He was the man she loved and all of her memories of him were in the village where they lived.

Chapters 20 & 21

This was a very confusing section for me. Dimmesdale began acting extremely odd. Dimmesdale is on his way home and he begins having a multitude of corruptive thoughts. He meets an old woman in the street and he wants to tell her blasphemous statements of the immortality of the human soul. However, he restrains himself. Dimmesdale next meets a young woman who has recently joined his church. He ignores her because he is afraid that he will tell her some horrible corruptive thought. He also meets a group of children and is tempted to teach them some curse words. I believe he is behaving in this way because he has realized the own mortality of his foul. He sees things in a different light and now knows that he is a sinner just like anyone else. Being a minister does not change the human tendency to sin.
Hester and Pearl attend the ceremony. Pearl is flitting around behaving like her normal self. I think that Hester is anxious because following Dimmesdale’s speech they plan to leave for Europe. However, her anxiousness is transformed to dread and terror when she learns from a sailor that Chillingsworth plans to accompany the family to Europe. She now knows that she will never escape from him.

Chapters 16-19

This part of the novel is the section of truth. There is no manipulative behavior or hidden secrets. Hester and Dimmesdale are completely open with each other. Hester has decided that she must warn Dimmesdale of the nature of the man whom he has taken into his conscience. Hester knows that Chillingsworth is trying to destroy Dimmesdale.
Dimmesdale is at first enraged when he discovers who Chillingsworth really is. However, Hester embraces him apologizing profusely and removes the scarlet letter. He immediately forgives her. Dimmesdale confides in Hester. He tells her how sorrowful his life has been and that he can seek no happiness in anything. He knows that he is deceiving his congregation and this is weighing upon him. He doesn’t want to tell the divulge his secret because he thinks that it would destroy the church. Hester does not entirely understand all of Dimmesdale’s sorrow. He has repented and God has forgiven him. She tells him that he should take joy in his congregation.
Hester and Dimmesdale devise a plan. After the holiday they want to sail to Europe with Pearl and live their as a family. Dimmesdale wants very much to be close to Pearl. Hester almost seems like she is trying to convince Dimmesdale of all the good in Pearl. She wants Dimmesdale to love their little Pearl as much as she does. Dimmesdale and Hester call Pearl to them. Pearl is startled by seeing her mother without the scarlet letter. She refuses to come to them until Hester reattaches the letter. I do not think that Pearl views the letter as bad. To Pearl, it symbolizes her existence and the love between her mother and father. By taking off the letter they were removing the only sign of connection between Pearl and her parents. Hester can only remove the letter once they have both revealed their secret.
When Pearl finally approaches Dimmesdale he kisses her tenderly on the cheek. This sign of affection was different from the affection that Dimmesdale showed her in the governor’s mansion. At the mansion, Dimmesdale showed tenderness toward her openly. This time, Dimmesdale is hidden in the woods. She rejects the kiss and washes it off in the brook. Dimmesdale is sorrowed by her reaction but he and Hester still plan to go along with their scheme of escape.