The Scarlet Letter - Book Summary

The Scarlet Letter is a historical novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850. set in 17th century Puritan Massachusetts the novel focuses on the story of Hester prin who gives birth to a daughter Pearl after an adulterous affair while Hawthorne risked his career in centering his novel on such a taboo topic the story is more concerned with the effects of the affair than with the affair itself using Hester's public shaming as a springboard to explore the lingering taboos of Puritan New England in then contemporary Society considered Hawthorne's most famous work The Scarlet Letter is also the

first quintessentially American novel In Style and theme and one of America's first mass-published books the novel opens with Hester prin a new mother being led to the scaffold where she is to be publicly shamed by her Puritan Community for three hours as punishment for committing adultery furthermore Hester has been forced to wear the letter A on her gown at all times in an elegant flourish she has stitched a large Scarlet a onto her dress with gold thread Hester carries her daughter Pearl onto the scaffold and is later asked to reveal the name of Pearl's father

she refuses but is unnerved to see her husband Roger Chillingworth in the crowd despite her assumption that he had been lost at sea Hester has returned to the prison where she has been kept following her crime masquerading as a physician Chillingworth visits Hester telling her that he is settled in Boston and intends to find out who Pearl's father is by reading the truth on the man's heart he forces her to promise never to reveal his true identity as her cuckolded husband threatening to avenge her betrayal by ruining Pearl's father if she does several years pass

and Hester and pearl move into a cottage bordering the woods outside Boston living in relative solitude Hester earns a living by doing Stitch work for local dignitaries but spends her free time helping the poor and sick meanwhile Pearl grows up to be wild and disobedient she is also obsessed with the Scarlet a that Hester wears while Church officials attempt to remove Pearl from Hester's home as a result of her mischievous streak Arthur dimsdale a young and respected Minister manages to convince the governor to let Pearl stay with Hester over time Chillingworth develops a reputation as

a talented physician using his standing as such to be transferred into the same home as dim still who is suffering from an unknown illness while caring for dimsdale Chillingworth becomes convinced that dimsdale's condition is a symptom of his guilty heart one afternoon while dimsdale is asleep Chillingworth discovers a mark of Shame on his breast and infers that dimsdale is indeed Pearl's father from then on Chillingworth torments the minister in the guise of nursing him back to health one night dimsdale is so overcome with shame at his secret that he walks to the scaffold where Hyster

was publicly humiliated and imagines the whole town watching him at the same time Hester and pearl come upon dimsdale joining him Atop The scaffold when Pearl asks dimsdale to publicly acknowledge her as his daughter dimsdale refuses just then a meteor in the shape of an a passes Illuminating Chillingworth who watches them from a distance Hester realizes that Chillingworth must be slowly killing dim still Weeks Later Hester encounters Chillingworth picking herbs in the woods and threatens to reveal his identity as her husband to dim still he tells her that Providence is in charge of their Fates

and that she may do as she sees fit later Hester arranges to meet dimsdale in the forest with pearl telling him of chillingworth's true identity they decide to run away together in four days time the day before their departure dim still delivers his election sermon receiving overwhelming praise for his preaching meanwhile Hester discovers that Chillingworth has found out about her and dimsdale's plan to run away and has secured a spot on the very same ship leaving the church dimsdale notices Hester and pearl standing nearby and shocks The Crowd by climbing the scaffold with them dimsdale

confesses to having fathered Pearl and reveals the Scarlet a seared into his chest admitting that he should have assumed his rightful place by Hester's side seven years earlier when she first climbed the scaffold after this admission dim still suddenly dies his revenge plot foiled Chillingworth dies within a year of dimsdale and Hester and pearl leave town years later Hester returns to Boston without Pearl resuming residents at her Cottage on the edge of town and occasionally hearing from Pearl who has moved to Europe and started a family Hester never removes her Scarlet Letter and when she

dies is buried next to dim still