The Scarlet Letter

1
The Scarlet Letter

• Chapters 11 and 12

2
Summary of Chapters

• Dimmesdale is being tortured by his sin.
  Chillingworth is toying with him and every one of
  his church members worships him. They cant
  understand why Dimmesdale speaks so lowly of
  himself. Dimmesdale is going crazy because he is
  keeping this secret. One night, Dimmesdale went
  up to the scaffold and held hands with Pearl and
  Hester. Chillingworth was out because he had been
  tending to Winthrop who had just died. It was
  very dark so nobody except for Chillingworth
  witnessed this event. While the three were still
  up on the scaffold, the letter A appeared in
  the sky and many of the townspeople interpreted
  it as Angel for Winthrop. The next day, the other
  pastor brought Dimmesdale his black glove and
  said he found it on the scaffold. Instead of
  asking how it got up there, the sexton simply
  said that Satan must have put it there.

3
Themes

• Duplicity- living a lie is weakening Dimmesdales
  body. This internal struggle affected so much
  that he does not act on his suspicions about
  Chillingworth. He wanted the public to know his
  sin but was afraid. The peoples approval of him
  only added to his torture. It is inconceivable,
  the agony with which this public veneration
  praise tortured him.
• All humans have the same need - As Dimmesdale
  struggles with his own sin, he was made more
  human meaning he was able to connect with
  people better. He won it, indeed, in great
  part, by his sorrows.

4
Romantic Ideas

• Very emotional laughs and screams of Dimmesdale
• Love The three holding hands
• Believe in individualism Dimmesdales refusal
  to admit nature of his sin publicly
• Subjective perception A in sky angel or
  adulterer
• Introspective Dimmesdales soul searching
• Satisfaction of desire desire to confess drove
  Dimmesdale to scaffold
• Supernatural energy and power electric chain

5
Puritan Ideas

• Follows the Bible exactly Father Wilson
• Conservative and strong moral character
  Dimmesdale
• Nature is evil Hibbins, twigs of forest
  clinging to her skirt Also, Chillingworth heals
  with nature
• Interprets signs from Heaven Comet with letter
  A was presumed to be a message from God.
• Shows little emotion In chapter 11, the fathers
  of the church could not reach the people on an
  emotional level.

6
Character Analysis

• The most significant character developments in
  chapters 11 and 12 are in Dimmesdale and his
  illegitimate daughter, Pearl.
• We will take a closer look at the climactic
  internal battle that Dimmesdale undergoes and the
  further development of Pearls free-spirited
  nature.

7
Character Analysis Dimmesdale

• Dimmesdales hallucinations and self injury
  (hitting himself with a scourge or starving
  himself) increase because Chillingworth is now
  torturing him for revenge.
• He desperately wants to confess but is too
  cowardly to be anything but vague.
• He believes that the comet proclaims Gods
  judgment of him as an adulterer but the
  townspeople misinterpret it.

8
Character Analysis Pearl

• In these chapters, the reader is assured that
  Pearl knows that Dimmesdale is her father.
• She asked him twice to acknowledge her publicly
  though he refuses.
• She vengefully taunts him with the knowledge of
  Chillingworths true identity. This shows that
  she knows she deserves to be acknowledged.

9
Literary Device Irony

• Dimmesdale doesnt know that Chillingworth is
  Hesters husband. Even though Dimmesdale doesnt
  know Chillingworths secret, Dimmesdale is
  already beginning to hate Chillingworth because
  Chilligsworth was constantly intensifying
  Dimmesdales pain through his evil machination.

10
Literary Device Narrative Voice

• Yes it seems to be my glove indeed.
• In this example, Dimmesdale has just been given
  the glove that was found on the scaffold. He
  admits to the minister that its his glove, which
  could be a confession that he was there but, he
  doesnt come out and say that he left it there,
  not Satan.
• By using narrative voice here, Hawethorne causes
  the reader to question Dimmesdales Ideals.

11
Literary Devices Symbolism and Color

• Forest natural chaos of sin
• Mistress Hibbins interred the scene with twigs
  from the forest on the hem of her skirt
• This is the opposite of the order and control
  that Puritans valued.
• Light reason
• Pages 155-156 now, in short, good Father Wilson
  was moving homeward, aiding his footsteps with a
  lighted lantern!
• Black gloves evil
• -The minister said that Satan left the glove on
  the scaffold.

12
Literary Device Allusion

• Allusion is when the author refers to a
  well-known work but doesnt show the connection.
• When Dimmesdale twice denies Pearls request to
  admit his sin (such a confession could lead to
  his salvation), this could allude to the Bible
  where Peter twice denies Christ (Christ is
  Peters salvation).
• I, in whose daily life you discern the sanctify
  of Enoch The Enoch walked with God in Genesis
  521-24. This allusion implies that the people
  think that Dimmesdale is as Holy as Enoch.

13
Quiz

1. Why doesnt Dimmesdale act upon his suspicions of
   Chillingworth?
2. In what ways did Dimmesdale hurt himself?
3. Why do you think Dimmesdale tortured himself?
4. Without knowing the truth about Chillingworth,
   why does Dimmesdale begin to hate him?
5. What did the A that was marked in the sky by
   the meteor represent to the townspeople? To
   Dimmesdale?