Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter

Study Questions 1: Hawthorne
Study Questions

Chapter I-III │ Chapter IV-VI │ Chapter VII-IX │ Chapter X-XII │
Chapter XIII-XV│ Chapter XVI-XVIII │ Chapter XIX-XXI │ Chapter XXII-XXIV │

Chapter I 

1.  What relationships does this sort opening chapter suggest among these major themes: social ideals and social reality; nature; and history? 

2.  What kind of relationship does the narrator establish with the reader?

Chapter II 

1.  What is the significance of the title of this chapter? What does it suggest about the character of Hester's punishment and  the society punishing her? 

2.  The narrator is careful to point out differences between his own time and those of the Puritan setting. Give as many examples of these differences as you can.  What  do these difference suggest about Puritan culture?  about Hawthorne's own nineteenth century? 

3.  What do we learn about Hester's life history in this chapter?

Chapter III

1. What does the narrator think about the men sitting in judgment of Hester? (Can you think of real life examples of a group of men judging a woman?)

2. Describe the character of Dimmesdale. What special powers does his voice have? What clues in this chapter point to his close bone with Hester?

3. What symbolic power does the scarlet letter develop as a result of Rev. Wilson's sermon?

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Chapter IV

1. Why is this chapter suspenseful?

2. What does this chapter revel about the character and intentions of Roger Chilligworth?

3. What kind of marriage did Roger and Hester, and why does Roger tell her "we have wronged each other"?

Chapter V

1. What reasons does the narrators offer for why Hester chooses to stay in Boston?

2. What does the needlework of Hester--an infamous sinner--become the fashion of the highest members of society? What does Hester's needlework reveal about her inner self?

3. What role does the scarlet letter play in society? What special insight into others does it give Hester? Is this insight go or bad? Why?

Chapter VI

1. What are some of the distinctive qualities and strange behaviors of Pearl? Are these peculiar traits due to natural or supernatural causes?

2. In this chapter and in Chapter V, comment on Hawthorne's method of narration. How does he combine specific events with generalizations about Hester's experience over several years?

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Chapter VII- VIII

1. Discuss the meaning of Hester's statement to Pearl, " Thou must gather thine own sunshine. I have none to give thee!" Where else the novel is sunshine an important image? What relationship does Pearl have with light?

2. In what ways does Pearl embody the scarlet letter? In what fundamental way is she different from the scarlet letter, according to Hester?

3. What does Hester mean when she says " Pearl keeps me here in life"? What evidence does Hawthorne supply that what Hester says is true?

4. Compare and contrast the significance of Pearl's various actions: her reaching out for the reflection from the Governor's house; her impish response to Rev. Wilson, her caressing the hand of Rev Dimmesdale, then running away when he kisses her forehand. Is her behavior natural, supernatural. or symbolic?

5. In what fundamental way has Rev Wilson's position toward Hester's sin (and fellow sinner) changed since the opening scaffold scene

Chapter IX

What does "the uninstructed multitude" feel in its heart about Roger Chillingworth? What distinction does the narrator make between what this multitude sees and what it judges in its heart?

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Chapter X

What different interpretations do Chillingworth and Dimmesdale each give to the weeds growing on the grave? 

Chapter XI

What is the "Tongue of Flame" and why does Dimmesdale possess it? 

Chapter XII

Why do you think Hawthorne placed the events of this chapter at the center of his narrative? 

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Chapter XIII 

How has the scarlet letter changed Hester physically and intellectually? What does the narrator mean when he writes, "The scarlet letter had not done its office." 

Chapter  XIV

How has Chillingworth changed since he became involved with Dimmesdale? What argument does Hester make for why Chillingworth should forgive Dimmesdale, and why does Chillingworth refuse to forgive him? 

Chapter XV 

How does the narrator criticize Hester in this chapter? What new view of Pearl does Hester take and why does Hester finally reject this view?  

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Chapter XVI  

How does Hawthorne use the objects in the forest (the light, the brook, the path, the trees) as symbols?  

Chapter XVII

What does Dimmesdale mean when he says, "Of penance I have had enough! Of penitence there has been none!"? How do Hester and Dimmesdale view their sin of adultery? Do they think it's a sin?  

Chapter XVIII

What attitude does the narrator have toward nature in this chapter, and how does it differ from the views of Emerson and Thoreau? 

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Chapter XIX 

Discuss Pearl's symbolic function in this chapter. 

Chapter XX 

How do you explain the minister's behavior in this chapter? What "revolution in the sphere of thought and feeling" has taken place? Is this revolution good or bad?

Chapter XXI  

How does this chapter deepen our understanding of Puritan culture and its relationship to the outside world? What does Hester's physical position and motion in the marketplace suggest about her relationship to this society?  

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Chapter XXII 

How does Hester feel distant from Dimmesdale in this chapter? How does she feel connected to him? 

Chapter XXIII 

This final scene reveals the nature of characters and their relationships to one another. Discuss the relationships between Dimmesdale and Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, Dimmesdale and Pearl. How do these characters perceive and respond to Dimmesdale's confession? How does Dimmesdale perceive each of them? How does Dimmesdale perceive himself? Does he consider himself saved or damned? 

Chapter XXIV  

Comment on the following aspects of the conclusion and what they add to our understanding of the characters: the interpretation of the sign on Dimmesdale's chest; Pearl's marriage; Hester's return to her seaside cottage; the narrator's moral ("Be true. . . "); the final line of the novel.  

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American Literature Survey I: Joseph C. Murphy