The Dramatic Significance of the Scaffold Scenes in “The Scarlet Letter”. 

Answer

Find out the dramatic significance of the Scaffold scenes in “The Scarlet Letter.” 

“The Scarlet Letter” is an iconic creation of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) based on sin, punishment, and atonement throughout The Scarlet Letter. The novel has three scaffold scenes. The scenes symbolize universal shame, punishment, hypocrisy and moral depravity in Puritan society. These scaffold scenes are dramatic because they emphasize inner conflicts in the Secret relationship of Damesdale and Prynne and help the plot development of the novel.

The first Scaffold scene: The first scaffold scene occurs in chapter 3, at the beginning of the novel.   Hester stands with an infant (Pearl) in her arms on the scaffold in midday. She has committed the unforgivable sin of adultery. A large crowd of people gathered outside of the gate of the prison. In the opinion of many in the crowd, she has been let off with a punishment for breaking a sacred law.  

People mock her for standing below the platform. The leaders of the community – civil officers, magistrates, priests – stand above on a balcony. The leaders of the community – Governor Bellingham, the Reverend Mr John Wilson, and the young priest Arthur Dimmesdale encourage   Hester to disclose the name of her partner in sin. Actually, Dimmesdale himself is the fellow sinner of   Hester   Prynne.  They say, 

What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him- yea compel him

They assure her they will remove the scarlet letter from her chest if she reveals his name. Women in the crowd make nasty comments about her, but   Hester   Prynne is silent. Nobody in the community shows sympathy for Prynne. People gaze at the embroidered scarlet letter ‘A.’ 

That SCARLET LETTER so fantastically embroidered and illuminated upon her bosom. 

She stands alone in the world with the symbol of her sin. She finds Roger Chillingworth, Prynne’s husband, at the boundary of the crowd. His face becomes pale with for her wife. But somehow, he controls his emotions. Hester  Prynne has recognized him. So, he slowly puts his finger on his lip and tells her not to reveal his identity to the crowd.

The second Scaffold scene: The second scaffold scene occurs in chapter 12, in the middle part of the novel. Arthur Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold. Then, he attempts to confess the sin that he has committed with Hester. He stands on stage on a dark night.  Hawthorne describes this scene as a “mockery of penitence” and “a vein show of expiation”.  

Here, Hester, along with Pearl, stands there beside Dimmesdale. This time, Dimmesdale realized his guilt deeply. Standing on the scaffold, he realizes the whole world is watching the scarlet letter over his heart. Hawthorn says:

Do anything, save to lie down and die!

A meteor lights up the sky at that moment. So, Dimmesdale feels it has illuminated a vast scarlet letter ‘A’ across the sky. It is the symbol of his guilt. The meteor’s light also exposes Roger Chillingworth standing near the scaffold. Dimmesdale calls Chillingworth at his home for his treatment. Chillingworth thinks perhaps Dimmesdale is related to Prynnne’s adultery. He started to hate him and discovered the secret of the scarlet letter. 

The third scaffold scene: The final scaffold scene occurs at the end of the novel, chapter 23. In this scene, Arthur Dimmesdale delivers his election sermon.   Hester   Prynne and Pearl stand on the Scaffold to watch Dimmesdale delivering his sermon. People praise him for his best delivery of sermons about the relationship between God and mankind. 

After the sermon, he steps towards the scaffold. He stands on the platform and asks   Hester and Pearl to come to him. So,   Hester and Pearl come to him slowly. Roger Chillingworth tries to stop him from giving a signal. But nothing can prevent him this time.

With the invisible help of God and the visible help of   Hester   Prynne, Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold.  He Holds little seven-year-old Pearl’s hand and allows her to be his daughter. So Hawthorne utters, 

Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies

Then, he confesses his sin before the gathering. He reveals that he was   Hester’s fellow sinner who corrupted innocent  Hester   Prynne. Finally, when he confesses his sin to the crowd, he achieves a moral victory; He finds peace by revealing the truth. So, he says,

Praised be his name: His will be done! Farewell

Finally, we can say the scaffold scenes in “The Scarlet Letter” are dramatic and significant moments that depict the themes of sin and redemption and the inner turmoil and growth of the characters. Through the scaffold scene, Hawthorn highlights the harsh judgment of society, the complexities of human character, and the potential for forgiveness and redemption.