Hester, hearing rumors that she may lose Pearl, goes to speak to Governor Bellingham。 With him are ministers Wilson and Dimmesdale。 Hester appeals to Dimmesdale in desperation, and the minister persuades the governor to let Pearl remain in Hester's care。来自优Y尔L论W文Q网wWw.YouERw.com 加QQ7520~18766

Because Dimmesdale's health has begun to fail, the townspeople are happy to have Chillingworth, a newly arrived physician, take up lodgings with their beloved minister。 Being in such close contact with Dimmesdale, Chillingworth begins to suspect that the minister's illness is the result of some unconfessed guilt。 He applies psychological pressure to the minister because he suspects Dimmesdale to be Pearl's father。 One evening, pulling the sleeping Dimmesdale's vestment aside, Chillingworth sees a symbol that represents his shame on the minister's pale chest。

Tormented by his guilty conscience, Dimmesdale goes to the square where Hester was punished years earlier。 Climbing the scaffold, he admits his guilt to them but cannot find the courage to do so publicly。 Hester, shocked by Dimmesdale's deterioration, decides to obtain a release from her vow of silence to her husband。

Several days later, Hester meets Dimmesdale in the forest and tells him of her husband and his desire for revenge。 She convinces Dimmesdale to leave Boston in secret on a ship to Europe where they can start life anew。 Renewed by this plan, the minister seems to gain new energy。 On Election Day, Dimmesdale gives what is declared to be one of his most inspired sermons。 But as the procession leaves the church, Dimmesdale climbs upon the scaffold and confesses his sin, dying in Hester's arms。 Later, most witnesses swear that they saw a stigma in the form of a scarlet "A" upon his chest, although some deny this statement。 Chillingworth, losing his will for revenge, dies shortly thereafter and leaves Pearl a substantial inheritance。

After several years, Hester returns to her cottage and resumes wearing the scarlet letter。 When she dies, she is buried near the grave of Dimmesdale, and they share a simple slate tombstone engraved with an escutcheon described as: "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules" ("On a field, black, the letter A, red")。

1。2 The Main Theme

Elmer Kennedy-Andrews remarks that Hawthorne in "The Custom-house" sets the context for his story and "tells us about 'romance', which is his preferred generic term to describe The Scarlet Letter, as his subtitle for the book – 'A Romance' – would indicate。" In this introduction, Hawthorne describes a space between materialism and "dreaminess" that he calls "a neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land, where the Actual and the Imaginary may meet, and each imbues itself with nature of the other"。 This combination of "dreaminess" and realism gave the author space to explore major themes。

The experience of Hester and Dimmesdale recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering。 But it also results in knowledge – specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be immoral。 For Hester, the Scarlet Letter is a physical manifestation of her sin and reminder of her painful solitude。 She contemplates casting it off to obtain her freedom from an oppressive society and a checkered past as well as the absence of God。 Because the society excludes her, she considers the possibility that many of the traditions held up by the Puritan culture are untrue and are not designed to bring her happiness。论文网

As for Dimmesdale, the "cheating minister", his sin gives him "sympathies so intimate with the sinful brotherhood of mankind, so that his chest vibrate in unison with theirs。" His eloquent and powerful sermons derive from this sense of empathy。 The narrative of the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale is quite in keeping with the oldest and most fully authorized principles in Christian thought。 His "Fall" is a descent from apparent grace to his own damnation; he appears to begin in purity but he ends in corruption。 The subtlety is that the minister's belief is his own cheating, convincing himself at every stage of his spiritual pilgrimage that he is saved。