Scarlett Letter: Blog 3

           Reverend Dimmesdale (father of Pearl) is revealed to the reader and continues to be tortured by Roger Chillingworth.  Rev. D is suffering physically and mentally from the sin and secrecy.  He continues to give sermons and serve the town.  He is thought to suffer from a terrible illness and keeps his hand over his heart.  He is heartbroken.  He should have revealed his love for Hester and set his pain free.  I understand that he is a priest and would lose his vocation which probably makes the decision harder and more stressful.  He is undeniably in turmoil. 

           The book then advances seven years.  Hester is doing well.  She helps the poor.  She is admired and the "A" no longer causes people to shun her but instead they see the "A" as Able.   So, seven years have passed and Hester has not talked to Rev. D.  She has seen him and watched him suffer because of Roger.  Hester feels she owes it to Rev. D to make him aware of who Roger really is and his evil plot.  The book says that Hester feels that she has a link to Rev. D because "the mutual crime" has lasted through time.  I don't think the book had to tell the reader this.  Certainly the story plays out without spelling it out.  But I think it is more than their mutual crime.  I think Hester and Rev. D love each other.  That Hester thought she could save him from the torture if no one knew, but she sees that Roger is destroying him and she wants to save him.  So, she tells him and they decide to runaway together (with Pearl) to Europe.  They have plans to leave by boat after the Election Day celebration (when Rev. D will give his final sermon).  But on election day, in front of everyone, Rev D. confesses his sin, reveals his chest which is branded with an "A" and then dies on the scaffold.  Very dramatic!!! 

           The conclusion tells you what happens to Hester and Pearl (and Roger).  I won't spoil it, but it's not a happily ever after ending (obviously, Rev. D died), but it's not a horror story ending either (not everyone dies).  But the last chapter makes you think about sinners and what happens when you harbor your sin and what happens when you admit your sins.  And how others react and deal with their sins and the sins of others.  The message I received was: accepting and acknowledging your sins is much healthier than hiding and running from them.  I definitely recommend reading this book.   

Scarlett letter: Blog #2

I am now more than halfway into the text of The Scarlet Letter.  According to the author, wearing the "A" was a living sermon against sin.  Hester was sparred death because her husband had gone out to sea making the adulterous behavior less offensive because he is thought to be dead.  But he returns (showed up at the scaffold and then went to see Hester in prison) and now posing as a doctor of medicine and going by the name Roger Chillingworth).  He tells Hester that they wronged each other.  His wrong was making her marry him when she did not love him and then deserting her.  And although he does not want to hurt her, he is determined to figure out who the father is and reveal him.  I find this strange because if he realizes he did wrong by Hester, then why does he care who the father is and vow to expose him.  He says that few things are hidden "from the man who devotes himself earnestly and unreservedly to the solution of a mystery."  Sooner or later, he is going to uncover the father.  He says that he will read it on his heart and he will let him live but he will seek to ruin his soul.  Sounds like a horror movie to me, definitely not a romance.

So, we know what is going to happen. Hester's long lost thought to be dead husband is going to figure out who the father is and torture him.  This seems odd to me.  It seems like he does not love Hester because reveling the father will only make the people more enraged, so why not leave the father alone.  Hester does not want to expose him, so why is he determined to do so?  Jealousy?  Revenge on the one who got away with the crime?  Or maybe he's just evil?  Some people love making other people miserable.  They are fulfilled by the misfortunes of others.  This is a terrible character flaw.  Although I do not think it is fair for Hester to suffer alone and the father to "get away" with his participation in this, I do not think it should be someone else who makes it their mission to solve the mystery and bring more humiliation to this situation.  I guess if I think of it like a crime (as that is what it was considered in 17th century America), then Hester's husband is uncovering a criminal. . .I guess that makes more sense on why he is doing it.

Meanwhile, Hester’s child, Pearl is growing up.  She is described as angelic, full of life, intelligent, strange, and elfish.  I think she sounds awesome.  She is full of life and of course she is odd.  She is recluse from society.  She has only her mom and when around others, they point at her, run from her, and isolate her.  I think it’s a miracle she is not a demon.  This really could be a horror film. So I will read on about how the father will be uncovered and tortured and how Hester and Pearl will continue to be demonized and mistreated.  Good stuff.