The Importance Of Important Scenes In The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter is split into different scenes, each of which includes a confrontation between important characters in the story. Most of the influential scenes involve at least two of the main characters, being Hester Prynne, Pearl, Reverend Dimmesdale, and/or Roger Chillingworth. These scenes are separated by, “seven chapters (which) serve as interludes in the dramatic action” (Cowley 13). The first of these important scenes occurs in chapters two and three of the novel. In this scene, Hester Prynne and her daughter, Pearl, are introduced into the story as Hester exits the town prison carrying Pearl. Throughout this scene you can see the scarlet “A” sewn onto Hester’s dress, standing for adulterer, which is the reason for her being in the prison. As the scene progresses, Hester moves to the scaffold where she is forced to …show more content…
The scene begins with Hester taking Pearl to the woods hoping to find Dimmesdale there on his way back from visiting a Native American settlement outside of the town. When the Reverend approaches, Hester sends Pearl off to play by the brook. After a few minutes of conversation, Hester reveals to Dimmesdale that, “Roger Chillingworth! -- he was my husband!” (Hawthorne 214). Infuriated, Dimmesdale blames the pain and suffering that Chillingworth has caused him on Hester, but forgives her when he realizes that Chillingworth’s sin is far worse than either his or Hester’s. The couple then decides that they will catch a ship to Europe after Election Day. For the first time in years, both Hester and Dimmesdale feel joy, and Hester makes the decision to take off the scarlet letter and throw it down by the brook. This is an important scene, because Dimmesdale learns Chillingworth’s true identity, it is the first time in the entire book in which the mood is happy, and a resolution to the problem (Chillingworth’s revenge on Dimmesdale) is