Nathaniel Hawthorne includes the three scaffold scenes in The Scarlet Letter to create suffering and misfortune. These two nouns play to the plot of the novel and also to the character’s feelings throughout the story. The two characters that Hawthorne emphasizes into suffering and misfortune are Hester Prynne and Reverend Dimmesdale; in which both are seeing each other in secret and going against their beliefs. Their secluded meetings have led to Hester getting pregnant, which cannot be done since she is married, and being the ruthless example of the new colony in Boston. The scaffold scenes play to these two character’s lives by displaying Hester to showcase her sin, by presenting Dimmesdale’s remorse and suffering, and by leading to the minister’s
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The first scaffold scene introduces Hester and the reason of her public humiliation on the platform; this scene starts off the story because it sparks mystery in the readers on who committed the sin with Hester. The reader develops agony once Hester “will not speak” on who the other guilty party is within the committed sin (Hawthorne 58). The second scene plays on the image of a family brought together through a tough, problematic experience. Dimmesdale is starting to feel his guilt, due to the unexpected visit of Rodger Chillingworth, and decides to take a walk for some fresh air and some space. While standing upon the scaffold, Dimmesdale spies Hester and Pearl and calls out to them; he tells them both to “come up hither” and to “stand all three together” almost like a true family (Hawthorne 126). This little scene is very significant due to the fact that readers finally understand that Dimmesdale may just be the father. The last scaffold scene concludes with Dimmesdale giving his Election Day speech; he is experiencing so much remorse that he knows it is time to come clean with the truth. To announce his secret, Dimmesdale calls to Hester to “stand upon the spot” where he “should have stood” seven years ago (Hawthorne 208). The crowd is shocked on the news that has been thrown their way and are surprised that Dimmesdale is Hester’s lover. These scaffold scenes help produce a flow between the beginning and the middle to further the story along while the ending showcases a happy, but tragic,
The first scaffold scene introduces Hester and the reason of her public humiliation on the platform; this scene starts off the story because it sparks mystery in the readers on who committed the sin with Hester. The reader develops agony once Hester “will not speak” on who the other guilty party is within the committed sin (Hawthorne 58). The second scene plays on the image of a family brought together through a tough, problematic experience. Dimmesdale is starting to feel his guilt, due to the unexpected visit of Rodger Chillingworth, and decides to take a walk for some fresh air and some space. While standing upon the scaffold, Dimmesdale spies Hester and Pearl and calls out to them; he tells them both to “come up hither” and to “stand all three together” almost like a true family (Hawthorne 126). This little scene is very significant due to the fact that readers finally understand that Dimmesdale may just be the father. The last scaffold scene concludes with Dimmesdale giving his Election Day speech; he is experiencing so much remorse that he knows it is time to come clean with the truth. To announce his secret, Dimmesdale calls to Hester to “stand upon the spot” where he “should have stood” seven years ago (Hawthorne 208). The crowd is shocked on the news that has been thrown their way and are surprised that Dimmesdale is Hester’s lover. These scaffold scenes help produce a flow between the beginning and the middle to further the story along while the ending showcases a happy, but tragic,