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Scarlet Letter Plot
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Slide Set by Denise Draper, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by Denise Draper
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Resource summary
Slide 1
The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Slide 2
The book opens in Boston. It is the 17th century and it is summertime.
The beauty of the season is set in contrast to the drab Puritans who populate the scene. They are gathered outside a wooden prison, which sits beside a cemetry. In front of the depressing jailhouse are some ugly weeds. In their midst is a single flower - a rose. The rose is the only thing of beauty in this otherwise dull and dark portrait.
Chapter 1
Slide 3
Chapter 2
The Puritan women gather outside the prison to talk of Hester Prynne, the novel's central character. Their words are unkind. They discuss her sins in a judicious way.
As they gossip, Hester emerges from the prison; her beauty at odds with her surroundings. On her clothing, a large letter 'A' has been added. This is the symbol for an adulterer. In her arms she carries a young baby.
Hester is brought through the crowd to stand on a pillory where she can be seen and scorned by all those present. In her mind, she thinks back to happier times in England. Here she is faced by shaming looks.
Slide 4
Chapter 3
Hester stands on the Pillory with her baby, Pearl. Looking at the crowd, she recognizes a man. He sees her too. He is old and deformed. She is terrified by him, but she must remain where she is. Hester's punishment for adultery is to stand in front of the hostile crowd for 3 hours. She must also wear the scarlet A for the rest of her life.
Rev Dimmesdale tries to persuade Hester to reveal the name of the man who has also sinned. She refuses. He insists that she should, even if the man is too coward to name himself.
The deformed stranger asks the crowd about her crime. He is not from Boston. Despite the angry crowd's demands to reveal the truth, Hester keeps her silence and stands with the crying baby through her sentence.
Slide 5
Chapter 4
Hester is led back to her cell with her sick child. In this terrible place, she waits until the stranger later visits her. His name is given as Roger Chillingworth. Though she is afraid of him, he brings medicine for Pearl which soothes her to sleep. He also gives Hester a sedative, which eases her own pain.
They begin to talk and each accepts a portion of blame for her crime. Roger Chillingworth is really Roger Prynne, her husband. He holds no ill feeling to his wife, but wants to know the identity of the father. She remains silent, but he promises to discover for himself. He asks Hester to keep his identity a secret. She agrees, but worries that it will be the end of her.
Slide 6
Chapter 5
Now free from prison, Hester decides to remain in Puritan Boston, though living on the outskirts of town. She makes her living as a seamstress. She is talented and successful, though her work is not sought after for weddings, due to the scandalous associations.
Despite the success of her craft, she is still treated with contempt from the locals.Hester accepts this punishment with dignity. She begins to imagine that the scarlet letter somehow confers her with a magical ability to read the sins in others.
Slide 7
Chapter 6
Over the coming years, Pearl grows.
She is a beautiful, graceful and intelligent child. However, she is also strong-willed and difficult to control. Hester believes the child's passion is a consequence of the passion that created her...and the sin.
Because Hester is an outcast, so too is Pearl. They usually have only each other for company. When other children are unkind, Pearl retaliates by throwing rocks and insults.
Hester wonders if the child is possessed by a demon. Even her imaginary friends are never friends, but enemies - Puritans that she attacks with her play.
Pearl is drawn to the embroidered letter her mother is forced to carry. She wants to know the story of her father.
Slide 8
Chapter 7
Hester hears a troubling rumor. Pearl's behavior has brought unwanted attention. People want the child to be separated from Hester, who they believe is the source of the deviancy.
Hester must travel to the Governor's house to deliver some gloves that she has made. While there, she plans to make her case - that the child should be allowed stay with Hester.
Pearl has dressed well for the journey. She wears a vibrant scarlet dress. On the way, some children stop them to taunt her. Pearl scares them away with her violent manner.
When they reach Governor Bellingham's home, they wait. The spend time looking at their warped image in polished metal. Some men approach. Hester listens.
Slide 9
Chapter 8
The men are Governor Bellingham, Rev Dimmesdale, Rev Wilson and Roger Chillingworth, who has been living in Boston and is now Dimmesdale's friend and doctor.
The Governor is shocked by the color of Pearl's dress, which he sees as sinful. He demands that Rev Wilson test the child's knowledge of the Bible. When asked, 'who made thee?', Pearl cheekily replies that she was not made, but taken from the rosebush outside the prison. The governor and Wilson are shocked and believe Pearl should be fostered immediately. Hester protests and asks Dimmesdale to speak for her. In turn, he asks that Hester be allowed keep the child as a reminder of her sin. Pearl takes Dimmesdale's hand in gratitude and he kisses her on the head. Chillingworth becomes suspicious.
Before they leave, Mistress Hibbens - the governor's sister - invites Hester to a meeting of witches in the forest. Hester declines, but says that if they had taken Pearl, she would pursue such a devilish aim.
Slide 10
Chapter 9
Chillingworth has ingratiated himself to the people of Boston. Since arriving, he has served as a physician. Perhaps his most prominent patient is the Rev Dimmesdale who, although a relatively young man, suffers from poor health. Dimmesdale now shares a house with Chillingworth so that the doctor can better keep an eye on his health.
Over time, however, people have grown suspicious of the newcomer. They sense a hidden motive in Chillingworth. Some even suspect that he may be using black magic to keep the Reverend in poor health. They base their intuitions on the terror they can see in the beloved Dimmesdale's eyes.
Slide 11
Chapter 10
The public's fears are not unwarranted. Chillingworth has become obsessed with discovering the true identity of Pearl's father. He is convinced that Rev Dimmesdale hides a secret and continues to probe into the man's heart to discover the truth.
This chapter details the continued type of investigation that Chillingworth employs in his suspicions regarding his housemate. One day, while the physician once again tries to subtly pry the truth from Dimmesdale, the men hear Hester and Pearl outside. Dimmesdales agrees that Pearl is a strange girl and that Hester is better off with her sin publicly known than privately concealed.
Dimmesdale has accidentally revealed that he holds a secret, but says that only God will know his, rather than a judge on Earth. Chillingworth has broken through.
Days after, the physician finds Dimmesdale asleep. He pulls open his clothing and is surprised by what he finds underneath.
Slide 12
Chapter 11
Below Dimmesdale's shirt was the letter 'A' emblazoned on his chest by his own hand. Chillingworth is now sure of the man's secret and begins to torture the Reverend with subtle innuendos and phrases designed to stab at the man's guilty conscience. Dimmesdale does not knew why his new 'friend' is punishing him, but recognizes that he is. He starts to detest the man he lives with.
Ironically, Dimmesdales's suffering makes him more popular among the faithful. His repeated assertions that he too is a sinner fall on deaf ears, who believe him to be almost Christ-like.
He should publicly recant, but cannot bring himself to do so. Instead, he privately tortures himself by self flagellation and mutilation. One night, while haunted by his personal demons, he dresses and leaves the house.
Slide 13
Chapter 12
In his agitated state, Dimmesdale walks the streets until he comes to the same pillory that, seven years earlier, Hester stood at to receive her public disgrace. He stands aloft and feels shame that he should have stood here sooner, in front of the baying crowd instead of living a lie for so long. The thought disturbs him and he cries out.
Hester and Pearl are close by, returning from the governor's house. They join him on the scaffold. Pearl asks if they can sit together in the same spot the next day. He will join them on judgment day, the Reverend answers. As they sit together, a strange light appears in the sky and what looks like a huge 'A' appears in the clouds - caused by a passing meteor. Watching on is Chillingworth. Shocked by his presence, Dimmesdale asks Hester who he really is. She keeps her silence and her promise.
The next day, the sexton returns Dimmesdale's glove which has been found on the scaffold. He also noticed the great 'A' in the sky and comments on it.
Slide 14
Chapter 13
It is four years since they have met. Hester is not so ostracized as she once was. Her 'A' now stands for able and her charity and good grace has won her back some admirers in the community.
Hester, living in semi-exile, had not seen Dimmesdale. She was appalled at how fragile the man seemed. He had lost is nerve and was a mere shadow of the solid man she once knew. She wonders what could have caused such a change and vows to help him. She will ask her husband, Chillingworth, if he can assist her in her mission to save the Reverend.
Hester's drive comes from her role as a giver of charity. The passion she once had for Dimmesdale has been stripped from her.
Slide 15
Chapter 14
Hester walks along the coast. She sees Chillingworth and asks Pearl to play on the strand so they may talk.
Just as she had been shocked by the change in Dimmesdale, Hester is equally surprised by the change in her husband. Once a good man, Chillingworth has been driven demented by his quest for revenge against the man who impregnated his bride. He feels no enmity for Hester. Any sin she has committed has been paid-in-full by being forced to wear the scarlet letter. He regrets that he has become evil and releases Hester from her promise to keep his identity a secret.
Slide 16
Chapter 15
Walking away, Hester realizes that, if she ever had love for Roger Chillingworth, it is now completely gone. She hates him for what he has done to Dimmesdale and, by proxy, himself.
She returns to her truest love Pearl, who has been busy playing at the beach. In a moment of artistic creativity, Pearl has decorated her dress with seaweed. On her chest, she now sports the letter 'A'.
Pearl asks her mother about the meaning of the scarlet 'A' she is forced to wear. Hester almost confides in her daughter, but instead decides to conceal the real meaning of the letter.
Slide 17
Chapter 16
Hester is trying to get a moment alone with the Reverend Dimmesdale. Even after all this time, she must still be careful in her actions, so that he is not tarnished with 'her' sin. She and Pearl are trying to intercept him in the wood. Pearl is chasing sunlight. The clouds gather as Hester approaches.
Pearl asks her mother about The Black Man, a Puritan name for the devil. She asks her mother if The Black Man gave her the mark she must wear. Hester answers in the affirmative, that she once dealt with the devil, who gave her the scarlet letter.
Dimmesdale approaches unsteadily. He is weak and listless. He clutches his breast where he wears his own concealed scarlet letter.
Slide 18
Chapter 17
At first, Dimmesdale thinks that Hester may be a ghost, haunted as he is by the superstitions of his faith. They sit and begin to talk through the events of the last seven years. Dimmesdale admits that he is miserable and haunted by guilt at not revealing his part in Hester's shame. Hester consoles him with the message that he is loved by his parishioners and that he would not have had the power to help them if the truth were out.
Hester then reveals the truth that Roger Chillingworth is her husband and that she still loves the Reverend. Dimmesdale is angry. The sins of the lovers were acts of passion, but Chillingworth's acts were malicious and designed to torture.
They talk of running away so that they may live together in happiness. Dimmesdale is torn by the duty of his vocation. Dimmesdale cannot act alone. He needs Hester's strength, wherever he goes.
Slide 19
Chapter 18
Dimmesdale begins to think that Hester is right. He resolves to leave the weight of the Puritan community behind. He will not do so alone. He wants to be with Hester. On hearing this, she throws of the stifling cap she is wearing, and peels the scarlet 'A' from her chest. In her radiance, nature bursts forth with sunshine to show her unleashed beauty.
She wants Dimmesdale to know his daughter. She calls Pearl. When she appears, it is as if all of nature follows her command.
Slide 20
Chapter 19
Before he meets Pearl, Hester explains to Dimmesdale that she is their daughter that unites both their past and their love. He admits that he always worried that people would recognize his features in the child and worries now because he is uncomfortable with children. Hester assures him that Pearl will love him.
When the child arrives, Pearl is upset that her mother has removed the scarlet letter. She has a tantrum which, in turn, upsets the Reverend. When he attempts to calm Pearl with a kiss on the forehead, the child runs to the river to wash it off.
Slide 21
Chapter 20
Reverend Dimmesdale leaves the forest. He looks back to see Hester engulfed in sadness, while Pearl is dancing to his departure.
He still believes that leaving is the right thing to do. A return to Europe is preferable to a missionary life. He wishes to complete a farewell sermon, so that he can leave his station honorably.
Energized by his new outlook, he walks through the town full of a new zeal. However, he repeatedly has to stop himself from committing 'sinful' acts that he now feels urges to do - blasphemy, cursing, lustful looks and other acts of indecency.
Mistress Hibbins sees the change in the minister and invites him to a dark mass in the forest. Dimmesdale runs home and begins to write his sermon. He refuses any help from Chillingworth, who offers him a sedative.
Slide 22
Chapter 21
Hester and Pearl journey into town. A crowd has gathered for a day of importance for local governance. There will be a procession to mark the employment of new officials.
Hester daydreams about her future with Dimmesdale in Europe, where she can be a woman again. She has just bought their journey on a British ship.
Pearl asks whether Dimmesdale will call to them today, or ignore them as he usually does in public. Hester orders her to not draw attention to the minister. The captain of the ship joins her. He tells Hester that there will be another passenger from Boston - Roger Chillingworth.
Slide 23
Chapter 22
The procession begins. Musicians, soldiers and politicians march through the street, followed by the revitalized figure of Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. He strides with purpose, once again ignoring them as he passes. Hester cannot believe that this is the sensitive man she met in the woods so recently. Even Pearl does not recognize him.
Mistress Hibbins joins Hester and Pearl. She of Dimmesdale that she can recognize a fellow sinner, and says she knows that he conceals a sin as great as Hester's.
Dimmesdale gives his sermon. He talks of the nature of sin. He says that both the sainted minister and the woman who sports a scarlet letter carry the same mark.
Slide 24
Chapter 23
The townspeople do not immediately see the sermon as a confession. Instead, they are inspired by the brilliant minister. He is cheered by the crowd and hailed as a wonderful man of God. But they are troubled to see how weak he has become. He can barely walk and staggers toward the scaffolding. Almost there, he beckons for Hester and Pearl to join him. Chillingworth sees that the minister is dying and worries that he will be cheated of his revenge.
Surrounded by the crowd, Dimmesdale announces the truth of his sins and reveals the scarlet letter burned into his own chest. He asks God for forgiveness and hopes that he can spend eternity with Hester. He outs Chillingworth and forgives him. In a final act, he asks Pearl for a kiss, which she willingly gives. He dies, his conscience cleared.
Slide 25
Chapter 24
After Dimmesdale's death, people recall different accounts of the day. Some believe that the 'A' emblazoned on Dimmesdale's chest was the result of the evil Chillingworth, some think it was divinely placed there and some believe the Reverend did it to himself.
Not long after, Chillingworth died, leaving Pearl his fortune. Hester and Pearl left for Europe, but Hester returned to Boston to live out her days in the cottage. She wore the 'A' all her long life and is remembered fondly as a kind and charitable woman. When she died, she was buried beside Dimmesdale, close to the prison door where the book first opened.
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