And so, old Roger Chillingworth took leave of Hester Prynne and crept onward, his long beard dragging upon the ground as he walked.
Hester Prynne gazed after him, looking with half-curiosity and half-bitterness. She wondered if the tender spring grass beneath his feet would not be crushed by his every step. She questioned which sort of herbs this old man was so sedulous (1) to gather; would the earth not greet him with deadly and poisonous shrubs?
Or perhaps would every growth he came upon and touched be transformed into some deleterious (2) creature? And did the sun really even fall upon him? Was it only in her imagination that an ominous (3) shadow surrounded him in a sphere, moving along with him?
And now, where was he going? Would he not suddenly sink into the earth, as though …show more content…
It is for the same reason the minister keeps his hand over his heart.”
Hester half-smiled at the absurd incongruity (14) of the observation but then turned pale. “What has the letter to do with any heart besides mine?”
“I have told all I know,” answered Pearl. “But in good earnest, mother, what does this scarlet letter mean? And why dost thou wear it? And why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?”
Pearl took her mother’s hands in her own and gazed into her eyes with an uncharacteristic seriousness.
Hester wondered if the child was attempting to establish a meeting-point of sympathy with her.
Despite loving her child dearly, she had always compared Pearl to an April breeze. With its gusts of capricious (15) passion and a sentiment that was petulant (16) at best, it might caress Hester gently, but would soon flit away and be gone. She had never let herself expect that Pearl might become anything else.
But now she wondered if Pearl might have reached the age where she could be intrusted with her mother’s secrets. Perhaps Pearl might have been sent from the heavens, a messenger to ease her mother’s sorrows that had long been trapped in the tomb of her
Hester Prynne gazed after him, looking with half-curiosity and half-bitterness. She wondered if the tender spring grass beneath his feet would not be crushed by his every step. She questioned which sort of herbs this old man was so sedulous (1) to gather; would the earth not greet him with deadly and poisonous shrubs?
Or perhaps would every growth he came upon and touched be transformed into some deleterious (2) creature? And did the sun really even fall upon him? Was it only in her imagination that an ominous (3) shadow surrounded him in a sphere, moving along with him?
And now, where was he going? Would he not suddenly sink into the earth, as though …show more content…
It is for the same reason the minister keeps his hand over his heart.”
Hester half-smiled at the absurd incongruity (14) of the observation but then turned pale. “What has the letter to do with any heart besides mine?”
“I have told all I know,” answered Pearl. “But in good earnest, mother, what does this scarlet letter mean? And why dost thou wear it? And why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?”
Pearl took her mother’s hands in her own and gazed into her eyes with an uncharacteristic seriousness.
Hester wondered if the child was attempting to establish a meeting-point of sympathy with her.
Despite loving her child dearly, she had always compared Pearl to an April breeze. With its gusts of capricious (15) passion and a sentiment that was petulant (16) at best, it might caress Hester gently, but would soon flit away and be gone. She had never let herself expect that Pearl might become anything else.
But now she wondered if Pearl might have reached the age where she could be intrusted with her mother’s secrets. Perhaps Pearl might have been sent from the heavens, a messenger to ease her mother’s sorrows that had long been trapped in the tomb of her