Scarlet Letter
(Nathaniel Hawthorne)

The Author/ Narrator

Though the Scarlet Letter is a work of fiction, Hawthorne writes the narrator’s story as one that is intimately tied in to his own, as Hawthorne himself had deep family connections to Salem and served there as a customs surveyor. The author frames the tale by describing how he found papers belonging to John Pue and a piece of cloth that was a scarlet ‘A’; the cloth burned at the touch. The letters told a story that was collected through oral tradition about Hester Prynn. The author- once having lost his job at the customs house- takes the chance to write a fictional story from the papers that adhere as much as possible to the fact of the history.

Hester Prynne

Hester Prynne is a young woman who grew up in England and married Roger Chillingworth for unknown reasons. During their first conversation in the prison, Hester remarks that she neither felt love for the man nor pretended to have any. Hester had an affair with Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale which resulted in the birth of Pearl. As her feelings for Dimmesdale are strong, she endures the brunt of the punishment and becomes a social pariah with a scarlet ‘A’ upon her clothes, living on the outskirts of town.

Hester becomes a model of charity in the community and raises Hester by herself- fighting for both of them when needs be and living off her talent as a seamstress. Living on the outside of society, it affords her the objectivity to reflect upon her society and realize the terribly powerless position that women in her society are placed into.

While her attempt to escape with Dimmesdale to Europe fail, she does eventually leave then returns back to Boston many years later without Pearl. Once back, she continues her charity work and becomes a source of advice for the women in the community. Upon her death, she is buried next to- but not near to- Dimmesdale.

Roger Chillingworth/ Roger Prynne

An aged, intelligent man with a sight physical deformity, Chillingworth married Hester as his life as a scholar lacked the joy of human love. It seems that he was caught by Native Americans and was held ransom for two years, arriving at the exact moment his young wife was being held accountable for her affair. While he regrets marrying her, feels he did her an injustice by doing so, and hold no anger towards her or Pear, he vehemently despises Dimmesdale for turning him from a good, honorable man into one of belligerence.

He pretends to be a doctor and ends up taking care of Dimmesdale, living with him for an extended period of time. The doctor revels in this as he comes to suspect then be aware that Dimmesdale is the man that had the affair with his wife.

Upon Dimmesdale’s death and public confession, Chillingworth loses his reason to live and dies a year after the pastor, leaving to Pearl a large inheritance.

Arthur Dimmesdale

The guilt-ridden pastor and father of Pearl is young man who is beloved by the community for his godliness. While Dimmesdale racks himself over his perceived sins, Boston see his suffering as evidence of his holiness. Dimmesdale’s cowardice makes him physically ill- a situation that’s worsened when his unknown nemesis- Chillingworth- appears to be the only qualified doctor in town. He spends several years with the doctor in an attempt to keep himself healthy.

He eventually agrees to run away with Hester and Pearl to Europe, but quickly regrets it on the way back from their secret meeting. He decides instead to confess his affair to the community, standing on the same scaffolding that Hester stood on seven years earlier. He dies in her arms and is buried next to Hester under the same gravestone marked with a large ‘A.’

Pearl Prynne

Pearl is the free-spirited daughter of Hester. Having been raised outside of Boston society, she doesn’t socialize well with any other people besides her own mother. She is seen as mostly distanced, rarely affectionate, and always fickle. Her personality leads many to believe- including her own mother sometimes- that the girl is an evil spirit. The Bostonians attempt to separate the girl from her mother, but Dimmesdale vouches for them.

When her mother removes the scarlet letter from her chest, Pearl seems terrified of the sight, screaming until Hester places it back on.

At Dimmesdale’s death, Pearl seems to change almost entirely into a normal- though still free-spirited- child. While never explicitly told, it seems that she married in Europe and had a child.