The Scarlet Letter : Summary

Summary

We can easily understand this novel The Scarlet Letter in only 9 stages.

1. The source of this novel
2. First Scaffold Scene
3. Roger Chillingworth’s meeting with Hester
4. Attempts to separate Pearl from Hester
5. Dimmesdale’s mental turmoil and perception of truth by Roger Chillingworth
6. Repentance for Dimmesdale’s sins / Second Scaffold Scene
7. Dimmesdale and Hester plan to escape to Europe
8. Third scaffold scene
9. The end of Hester and Pearl

The Source of This Novel: The narrator of this novel is not actually named. But he was a custom house surveyor in Salem village. So, while rummaging through old office papers, he found some documents. There was a manuscript, wrapped in red cloth. And above it was written the letter “A”. So, a surveyor wrote this book 100 years before the current surveyor, whose name was Jonathan Pue. Then the narrator once lost this manuscript and decided to write a similar incident. And this is The Scarlet Letter novel. Actually, Nathaniel Hawthorne was a surveyor himself. So this incident is actually his autobiographical element.,

First Scaffold Scene

Standing on Hester’s Scaffold: So, the event happened at the beginning of the seventeenth century. There was a woman named Hester Prynne, being brought out of prison. She holds her baby daughter Pearl in one hand. And the letter “A” is written in deep red color on the cloth above her chest. Hester Prynne saw the scaffold that had been erected for her punishment, surrounded by excited people. They are here to see the punishment of an adulterer.

One’s Description of Hester’s Sin: One of them tells an older man that Hester is being punished for committing adultery. It is said about her husband that her husband was much older than her in age. And after marriage, her husband sent Hester to Boston, America. But her husband never came. Maybe he died at sea. Hester has not seen Hester’s husband for three years. In the meantime, Hester had an illicit affair and gave birth to a bastard child, named Pearl.

First, she was repeatedly asked the name of her lover. But she said nothing. So she was kept in jail. And today she was brought here to be punished. But the name of her boyfriend is not known yet. And that’s why the scarlet letter “A” (Adultery) is written on her chest. She has to draw the scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life. And now she was brought out for three hours. In these three hours, people will say a lot of bad things about her.

Inquiring about Hester’s Lover by the Church Fathers: Church Fathers, fathers ask Hester who is the father of her illegitimate daughter? Dimmesdale is Hester’s lover and the father of her illegitimate daughter Pearl. But Dimmesdale had already told Hester not to tell Hester about Dimmesdale.

The Identity of Hester’s Husband: Then Hester looked ahead. Her eyes were stuck in one place. She saw her lost husband, Roger Chillingworth, standing there. Roger Chillingworth is currently working as a doctor. His reputation has spread widely in this work. In fact, during his absence for so long, he gained extensive knowledge in medicine. And the new name is Roger Chillingworth. Actually, her previous name was Prynne. He settles in Boston, to punish Hester’s lover. So, Roger Chillingworth thought to himself, Hester’s illicit lover he would punish. So, he goes to see Hester.

Roger Chillingworth’s meeting with Hester: So one time Hester’s daughter Pearl fell ill. So, Roger Chillingworth goes to prison as a doctor to treat Pearl. Once there, he asks Hester about Pearl’s father. But Hester tells him nothing. As Hester does not say anything, Roger Chillingworth tells her that you’ll not reveal my identity to anyone. That is, he forbids anyone to identify him as Hester’s husband. If Hester reveals Roger Chillingworth’s true identity, he threatens to find out Hester’s lover and reveal his name to everyone. And he will also face punishment. Hester then promises Roger Chillingworth that she will not tell anyone about Roger Chillingworth’s true identity.

Attempts to Separate Pearl from Hester: A long day passed like this. Hester is currently supporting herself and her daughter by working as a tailor. Pearl is almost grown up now. Hester was cut off from society for her adultery and lived in a small cottage on the edge of town. So Pearl was a bit mischievous. So society thought that since Hester was an adultress herself, Pearl would be spoiled by her. So they wanted to separate Pearl from Hester. It was heartbreaking for Hester. So she went to the Father of the Church and her lover, Dimmesdale. She tells Dimmesdale that if Pearl is not allowed to stay with her, she will tell everyone the truth. Then the young priest Dimmesdale was afraid and asked the governor to let Pearl stay with Hester. At Dimmesdale’s request, the governor allows Pearl to stay with Hester.

Dimmesdale’s Mental Turmoil and Perception of Truth by Roger Chillingworth: A few days later, Dimmesdale is found to be very ill. He has a heart problem. In fact, he has become such a condition due to excessive anxiety. Roger Chillingworth is called in to treat Dimmesdale. As Dimmesdale was very ill, Roger Chillingworth began to stay at his house 24 hours a day. At one point, Roger Chillingworth suspects that Dimmesdale is tensed about something extra. Here he finds a link to Dimmesdale’s excess tension and Hester’s unspoken lover. So Dimmesdale keeps asking different questions to uncover the truth. In a word, Dimmesdale began to suffer more and more mentally.

So one afternoon Dimmesdale was sleeping. Then Roger Chillingworth saw a scarlet letter “A” on his chest. But it is not known when this letter was written on his chest. Roger Chillingworth then becomes convinced that Dimmesdale is Hester’s lover and Pearl’s father. Day by day Dimmesdale’s anxiety increased and his physical condition worsened. Although Dimmesdale had sinned, he was a Puritan priest. So he was regretting again and again. He wondered how much Hester was suffering alone for the same crime, but Dimmesdale was unpunished. Hester lives alone as a social outcast due to the crime of adultery, yet she is the first to come forward and help people in danger. So everyone forgot about her adultery and started loving her. And the scarlet letter “A” written on his chest has now become a symbol not of sin but of love.

Second Scaffold Scene

Repentance for Dimmesdale’s sins : A few more days passed like this. Pearl is now seven years old. One night Hester was walking through town. Then she suddenly saw Dimmesdale standing on the high place where she had to stand one day. In fact, Dimmesdale would sometimes go there in the middle of the night and cry. Yet he did not dare to tell anyone about his sin. So seeing Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl went up to him and took his hand. A meteorite flew into the night sky. And it wrote “A”. That is, it reminded Dimmesdale that he had committed adultery but was not yet punished for it. Dimmesdale then became even more ill.

So Hester goes to Roger Chillingworth and tells him to stop mentally torturing Dimmesdale. In fact, Roger Chillingworth repeatedly hit Dimmesdale’s weak spot. He was reminded of his sins. In this way, he was mentally punishing Dimmesdale. But Roger Chillingworth says he will never stop it. So Hester began visiting Dimmesdale occasionally in the forest to comfort him. Because anyone in town would suspect Dimmesdale if one saw them together. So one day while meeting in the forest, Hester tells Dimmesdale the true identity of Roger Chillingworth. Hester says that Roger Chillingworth is actually her husband. He is mentally torturing Dimmesdale to get revenge on him. Hearing this Dimmesdale was very angry. But he committed a great sin. So he has nothing to do.

Dimmesdale and Hester plan to escape to Europe: He tells Hester that they will escape by ship to Europe. And they will go there and live as a family. Actually, Hester loved Dimmesdale a lot. And loved Dimmesdale and Hester. So Hester agrees to Dimmesdale’s proposal. Because she will also taste freedom this time. In other places, no one knows about their sin. So they no longer have to hide their faces. They can live together. A few days later Hester took off the scarlet letter “A” written on her chest and took off her hair. Pearl was playing next door. But this is the first time Pearl sees her mother without the Scarlet Letter. So at first, she could not recognize her mother. Slowly the day of their escape to Europe was approaching.

Third Scaffold Scene

In this section, Dimmesdale gives a religious speech at a regent appointment the day before he flees to Europe. It was the best of all the sermons he gave during this time. Everyone was listening to him in awe. But he was feeling sick. It felt like falling to the ground. Meanwhile, Hester learns that her husband Roger Chillingworth has found out about their escape to Europe. So he also booked a seat on that ship. In fact, he did not want to let them out of sight and was keeping them eye to eye.

Meanwhile, Dimmesdale finished his speech. Then as he was leaving, Hester and her daughter Pearl were standing in front of the scaffold, the highest place in the city, for lack of space. Everyone was looking at Hester. Because she had a scarlet letter “A” on her chest. Then Dimmesdale came and took Hester’s and her daughter’s hands and climbed up to the high place. At this point, Dimmesdale exclaims that he is actually Pearl’s father. And committed adultery with Hester. That’s why he showed everyone the scarlet letter “A” he used to wear. Dimmesdale felt relieved to admit the truth. And fell from there and died. His daughter Pearl then kisses him on the forehead.

The End of Hester and Pearl: Hester’s husband Roger Chillingworth dies a year later, out of anger, grief, and rage at not being able to take revenge on Dimmesdale. And Hester and her daughter Pearl are known to have left Boston. No one knows where it went. And all the wealth that Pearl’s mother’s husband, Roger Chillingworth has, only inherits Pearl’s wealth. And he became very rich.

Years later, Hester returns to the old cottage in town. And as before she started working and helping people. She once again began to wear the scarlet letter “A” as she had read before, as a punishment for adultery. But this letter was not an insult to her now but a matter of pride and honor. It gave her a lot of motivation and energy. And it reminded her beloved Dimmesdale.

Occasionally she receives letters from Pearl. Pearl has now married into a European aristocratic family. Then one day Hester dies and is buried next to Dimmesdale. And in the middle of the graves of both of them, a monument (tombstone) was written on it with the scarlet letter “A”. And here the novel ends.