Summary Of Nathaniel Hawthornes "The Scarlet Letter"

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as much of
her story as is commonly known. When he asks the identity of the child's
father, he discovers Hester has refused to divulge this information. From
the balcony overlooking the scaffold, the young Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale
also asks for this information and eloquently appeals to Hester to publicly
name her partner in sin. She refuses.

Upon her return to prison, Hester is distraught, and Roger Chillingworth, a
self-proclaimed physician, comes to calm her and the babe. Chillingworth,
who is actually Hester's husband, refuses to publicly acknowledge her and
share in her shame. He makes Hester promise to keep his true identity
secret and vows to discover and avenge himself on the man who has wronged
him.

Hester and Pearl take up residence in a small cottage at the edge of the
village. Using her needlework skills, Hester supports herself and Pearl by
sewing for the magistrates and wealthy villagers. She also sews for the
poor as an act of charity. Although they live ...

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the
secret of the minister's heart�the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is Hester
Prynne's partner in adultery and the father of little Pearl. Chillingworth
acknowledges Dimmesdale as his enemy and thus makes him the unsuspecting
victim of his malevolent revenge.

Although Dimmesdale lacks the courage to confess his sin publicly and risk
ruining his reputation as a man of God, he suffers privately. In addition
to his constant mental torment, he punishes himself physically with a
bloody scourge, fasts to the point of weakness, and keeps nightly vigils.
On one of these vigil nights, seven years after Hester stood in solitary
shame upon the scaffold, Dimmesdale, thinking the rest of the town ...

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