"The
Scarlet Letter" is a classic novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is developed from an incident he described in the story "Endicott and the Red Cross."
The novel is set in 17th-century Boston, and opens as a young woman, Hester Prynne, emerges from prison with her illegitimate baby in her arms. Charged with adultery, she must stand on the public scaffold for three hours, and thereafter, must wear a scarlet
Letter 'A' on her breast as a lifelong sign of her sin, adultery. Her husband is an elderly English scholar who two years earlier sent her to Boston to prepare a home for them, but failed to follow her at the appointed time. Unknown to Hester, he had been captured by Indians and arrives just in time to see his wife publicly condemned.
Hester keeps the identity of her lover, not wanting to reveal it, try as the community does to draw out the secret from her. The guilty man, ironically, is one of the community's most respected figures, the young minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. A highly conscientious man, he escapes outward condemnation, but inwardly, he is tormented by sin.
Through the years, Hester settles into a new life. She proves to be a strong-minded and capable woman, and in spite her humiliation, she finds a place in boston scoiety by supporting other unfortunate people. Her daughter Pearl, has developed into a growing mischievous child who reminds Hester of her guilt by asking rather "leading" questions about the minister and the scarlet letter on her mother's breast.
Meanwhile, Hester's husband takes the name Roger
Chillingworth and settles in Boston as a doctor. He makes Hester swear to keep his identity secret, as he indulges in his private obsession in finding the identity of her lover. One midnight, chillingworth happens to witness Hester, Pearl and Dimmesdale speaking together. At this point, he guesses that the minister Dimmesdale is the
lover and the guilty one. Aware that the minister's failing health is related to his unconfessed sin, Chillingworth pretends to help him medically, while torturing him spiritually with virtaul allusions to his crime.
One day, Hester intercepts Arthur through the forest and begs him to escape with her to Europe. He likes to do so, but he sees it as yielding to further temptation. He returns to town, with mind confused, but still finishes his Election Day sermon. Hester learns that Chillingworth has blocked her plans of escape by booking passage on the same ship. Having delivered a powerful sermon, Dimmesdale deliveres a powerful sermon, then asks Hester and Pearl to join him on the pillory, where ultimately, he publicly confesses his sin.
As Dimmesdale dies in his lover's arms, Chillingworth cries out in agony for having lost his perverse life of vindictiveness. Now free from the restraints of the mortified community, Hester and Pearl leave Boston. The book ends with Hester's return to Boston and her voluntary decision to resume wearing the scarlet letter, symbolizing an acceptance of life's offerings and endurance, while Pearl settles in Europe.
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