The Scarlet Letter #7

"It lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off this badge. [...] Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature" (153).

If the magistrates do take off the scarlet letter, it's presence will still be in Hester's heart. Whether or not the letter is on her, she still committed adultery. In the beginning of the story, the scarlet letter's purpose is to bring Hester an incalculable amount of shame. Now, the scarlet letter "had the effect of the cross on a nun's bosom" (147). People stopped looking at the scarlet A for the purpose it resembled. Instead, they "said that it meant Able [because] so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength" (146). Hester did not beat herself in her guilt. Instead, she took it upon herself to make the best of her situation. Through Hester's kind actions, "society was inclined to show its former victim a more benign countenance than she cared to be favored with" (147). Hester gained some respect from society, but it was not enough to convince her that she was a good person. If she was, the letter "would fall away of its own nature" (153), giving her the absolution she longed for.


"[Dimmesdale] has been conscious of me. He has felt an influence dwelling always upon him like a curse. [...] He knew that no friendly hand was pulling at his heart-string, and that an eye was looking curiously into him, which sought on evil, and found it. But he knew not that the eye and hand were mine!" (155).

Dimmesdale has the pieces to this puzzle, but cannot put it together. He is too good of a man to think ill of another, especially the person who is meant to cure him. Hester blames herself for Dimmesdale's suffering and plans to do something about it: "I perceive such advantage in his living any longer a life of ghastly emptiness, that I shall stoop to implore thy mercy" (157). Hester knows this is something she needs to fix because she "acted a false part by the only man to whom the power was left [for her] to be true" (154). Hester's suffering decreases a little every day, whereas Dimmesdale's suffering increases. Dimmesdale punishes himself over the guilt he has, giving Chillingworth an advantage. Chillingworth can make Dimmesdale feel bad without much effort and Dimmesdale will beat himself over it. Seeing Hester's determination, Chillingworth even told her that her good was wasted by marrying him. Hester is set out to pay the "long debt of confidence, [...] whose bane and ruin [she] has been" (156). The question is whether or not Chillingworth will do something to try and stop it.