Реферат: The Scarlet Letter Scaffol Scenes Essay Research

The Scarlet Letter Scaffol Scenes Essay, Research Paper

The scaffold scenes are by far the most popular means of pointing out the perfect balance

and structure of Hawthorne?s masterpiece. The first time we meet all the principal characters of

the novel is in the first scaffold scene. The second of three crucial scaffold scenes appears

exactly in the middle of the novel. Again, Hawthorne gathers all of his major characters in one

place. Hawthorne brings all the principal characters together one more time in the third and

final scaffold scene. This scene begins with the triumph of Dimmesdale?s sermon and ends with

his death. These scenes unite the plot, themes, and symbols of the novel in a perfect balance.

The basic structure for the novel is provided by the scaffold scenes because everything else

revolves around what happens during these scenes.

The first scaffold scene focuses on Hester and the scarlet letter. Hester stands alone with

Pearl in her arms, a mere infant and sign of her sin. Meanwhile, a crowd of townspeople has

gathered to watch her humiliation and to hear a sermon. Two important people in the crowd our

Roger Chillingworth and Arthur Dimmesdale. Chillingworth, Hester?s husband just returned

from his long journey to America. Her lover, Dimmesdale, shares her platform as a sinner but

not her public humiliation. Dimmesdale is present throughout the whole scene but he is very

hesitant to admit that his is the secret lover, although Mr. Wilson is pestering him to find out

who it is. He doesn?t admit because he is afraid if he does confess it will ruin his reputation as a

person and as a minister. Chillingworth demands Hester to give him the name of her partner in

sin but she will not do so. In this scene, we have Hester?s public repentance, Dimmesdale?s

reluctance to admit his own guilt, and the beginning of Chillingworth?s devilish plot to find and

punish the father of Pearl.

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 representations in American

literature. In the covering of darkness, Dimmesdale made his way to the scaffold to perform a

silent vigil of his own. Dimmesdale is having a difficult time dealing with his own guilt, the

reasoning for his late night stand on the scaffold. In his torture he suddenly cries out a shriek of

agony that is heard by Hester and Pearl on their journey home from the dying bed of Governor

Winthrop. After hearing this shriek both Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale on the scaffold.

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