1/17/2024 0 Comments Letter scaffoldThe final scaffold scene occurs after the procession on Election Day. The chapter abounds in symbols: the scaffold itself Dimmesdale's standing on it the three potential observers representing Church, State, and the World of Evil the "electric chain" of Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale Pearl's appeal to Dimmesdale to stand with them the revealing light from the heavens and the variation on the letter A. This time, although the townspeople are not present, they talk about the scarlet A in the sky throughout the next day. Also illuminated in the darkness is the fiendish face of Roger Chillingworth. Hawthorne describes the scene as "an electric chain," the minister and his lover holding hands with their child between them. As though to taunt him, a great meteor burns through the dark sky, illuminating the scaffold, the street, and the houses. He replies that their meeting will be instead at the great judgement day rather than here in the daylight. Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale on the scaffold, the place where seven long years earlier "Hester Prynne had lived through her first hours of public ignominy." Although the crowd is gone, Pearl asks the minister if he will join her and Hester there at noontide. In his spiritual torture, he cries out with a shriek of agony that is heard by Hester and Pearl as they journey to their home from the bed of the dying Governor Winthrop. So far we have seen Dimmesdale's conscious attempt to deal with his guilt, but now we go deep into his subconscious. In the covering of darkness, Dimmesdale has made his way to the scaffold to perform a silent vigil of his own. The second scaffold scene again provides a view of all the principal characters, a dramatic vision of the scarlet A, and one of the most memorable tableaus in American literature. The focus on the adultery and the letter is strengthened by the topic of sin in Mr. In this scene, we have Hester's public repentance, Dimmesdale's reluctance to admit his own guilt, and the beginning of Chillingworth's fiendish plot to find and punish the father. In the crowd is also Roger Chillingworth whose voice is added to those of the crowd when demanding that Hester reveal her partner in sin. His ambivalence about maintaining his silence can be seen in his demand that Hester tell the name of the child's father. Dimmesdale, with other officials who represent the church-state, shares the platform. Hester stands alone with Pearl in her arms, a mere infant and sign of her sin. The townspeople are present to pass judgement, just as they will be in the final scaffold scene. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, shares her platform but not her public humiliation. Her husband, Roger Chillingworth, has just returned and is in the outskirts of the crowd. Meanwhile, a crowd of townspeople has gathered to watch her humiliation and hear a sermon. She stands on the scaffold with quiet defiance, holding her baby in her arms. The first scaffold scene, which occurs in Chapters 1-3, focuses on Hester and the scarlet letter. These scenes unite the plot, themes, and symbols in a perfect balance. While many critics have imposed various structures on this novel, the scaffold scenes are by far the most popular means of pointing out the perfect balance of Hawthorne's masterpiece.
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