Taylor's Blog!!

 Well, well, well. Our dear friend Dimmesdale still hasn’t learned.

We open Chapter 12 with Dimmesdale heading to the scaffold where Hester and Pearl must stand during the day and be made a spectacle of. He decides, most likely, to make himself feel better, that he will share their embarrassment and stand on the scaffold. However, there are just a few differences. He is alone in the town square, it is the dead of night, and everyone in town is asleep. Or so he thought. For some reason, he lets out a loud cry and immediately looks around to see if anyone has heard him. He is sure that he will be outed by the entire town…even though they are asleep! To his surprise, no one hears him. Shocker! The only one who possibly could hear him is Mistress Hibbins, the town’s suspected witch. After this moment, he sees Reverend Wilson, presumably heading home after being at the death-bed of Governor Winthrop. Dimmesdale seemingly cries out to him but, strangely, Wilson doesn’t even glance in his direction. For some reason after this strange encounter, Dimmesdale believes that everyone in the town will magically arise at the same time, looking completely disheveled and catch him in this embarrassing state. Then, Hester and Pearl walk by, also coming from Governor Winthrop’s and are invited to join Dimmesdale on the scaffold. They stand hand in hand and witness a sign from nature. A light shines from the sky and projects a gleaming red A. Hmmmm. Interesting that this sign was shown when Dimmesdale MANS UP and joins Pearl and Hester in their embarrassment. Oh wait! He didn’t! He refuses to join them at their routine public humiliation during the day! You were soooo close Dimmesdale but so far! Then…Oh no! They are discovered by Roger Chillingsworth! Dimmesdale begs Hester and Pearl to tell him what they know about their dear friend but Hester refuses and Pearl only tells him nonsense (maybe!). Even after this strange experience, Dimmesdale lies the next morning at his Sabbath sermon (which was unusually good) and is “surprised” when his sexton tells him about the A in the sky. 

In Chapter 13, I was relieved to see that the society has moved on from Hester’s mistake! She has won the forgiveness of her fellow townspeople by working hard and showing that she is useful within their society. In fact, the townspeople see the “A” as a badge of honor or as a mark of benefit. She is praised for her generosity and kindness! Thankfully, it’s revealed that the society has morals and can see past Hester’s mistake! However, the “A” still has a deleterious (vocab word!) effect for Hester because she has lost a part of her womanhood. Still, she is optimistic and turns from passion to thought. She ponders the role of being a woman and the patriarchal society in which they live. Finally, she considers her time with Dimmesdale and Chillingworth and concludes that she chose the wrong side between the two men. She notices that Dimmesdale might be a lunatic (yeah Hester you think?) but still recognizes that her decision to side with Chillingsworth was done in vain and is now below her. She decides to switch sides and wants to be honest and transparent about her decision with Chillingsworth so she goes to meet him…

In Chapter 14, we get the long-awaited rematch between Hester and Chillingsworth! Chillingsworth starts off their conversation with the mention of a rumor that Hester’s “A” might be removed from her bosom. She responds by saying that the badge would have to “fall away naturally” (Hawthorne 153). Hester looks intensely at Chillingworth and realizes that he has changed since she last saw him and has become a fierce man. Hester then reveals that she believes it was a mistake to side with him between Dimmesdale. Chillingsworth becomes VERY angry when he hears this news and states that he has wasted time with the minister. Hester defends Dimmesdale as Chillingworth comes to the realization that he is in the grips and inner workings of the devil. He releases Hester from her promise of silence (FINALLY!) and accepts his fate as a fiend (not FE!N)

I hope within the next chapters that Hester can be honest with the townspeople who have come to respect her and that she will reveal Chillingworth for who he truly is! I also hope that Dimmesdale will MAN UP and take responsibility for being the father of Pearl!

Lillian's Blog Post Ch. 9-11

  "Poor Dimmesdale".... is what most people would say after reading these last 3 chapters, but not me. So what that he's gotten deathly ill with visibly paler skin and "chest pains" (aka his little broken and aching heart)? "Oh, Dimmesdale is heartbroken and can't do anything about it!" one might be thinking. No. He needs to man up and take ownership of his actions. As you all know, I ALWAYS root for the romance, no matter how unconventional or questionable it may be. But, I've had a change of heart. If Dimmesdale is the true baby daddy.....He. Is. Weak. No man who wouldn't stand with his significant other when she's really going through it (aka shunned by her community and branded with an "A") will ever be deserving enough for her love. Hester is just a single mother, already abandoned by her husband, then left to fend for herself when she becomes pregnant with her lover's child! She has REALLY been put through the wringer. Speaking of the husband who abandoned her, what is up with Chillingsworth?! He's totally off his rocker and gone completely mental. Not only does his face change, but the other members of the community notice the evil that seeps out of him. I do have to applaud his efforts though. His dedication to his revenge is truly admirable. I mean, befriending your wife's ex-lover and current alleged baby daddy is not easy to do. He might need to dial it back though if he truly wants some answers.... his pestering is coming off a bit too strong for Dimmesdale's liking.

And we certainly can't forget about Pearl, although both Dimmesdale and Chillingsworth seem to while they are busy discussing the horrible effects of not sharing your secrets (what a hypocrite Chillingsworth is). Oh, Pearl. In desperate need of entertainment other than her sticks and mother, she is shown dancing on the graves and throwing burs at Hester's "A" and then changes her aim towards the men! But honestly, who can blame her for the environment she has grown up in is certainly reason for her interesting actions. After Pearl and Hester leave the graveyard, the two men begin discussing AGAIN the nature of sin and secrets. Dimmesdale continues to argue that God knows his secrets and therefore he has no reason to broadcast them. How nice that Hester picked such a pious man for the subject of her affair! Despite their argument, the two rekindle their odd bromance. In light of this newfound friendship, Chillingsworth decides to look at Dimmesdale's chest beneath his shirt while he is sleeping! Um hello? Clearly, he has never heard of boundaries. With a dramatic close to last night's reading, Chillingsworth seems set more than ever in his revenge while Dimmesdale appears to be growing more guilty by the second. He tries to preach his way out of it, but the townspeople only seem to love him more. He appears to be going a bit insane from this. At the end of Chapter 11, we are left on a cliffhanger with Dimmesdale disappearing into the night with an idea. Oh boy. I really do hope that Hester finds true love in the later chapters, and breaks away from these men who seem more obsessed with each other than her (potential red flag?). If anything, Pearl needs someone else other than her mother. Not just a stepfather, but a father who will step up. 

Tilly's blog post [SL -- chapters 5-8]

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Our reading starts off by driving home the fact that Hester Prynne feels deeply guilty, yet she will not flee society because of her guilt and she commits to raising her daughter at her side. She makes money from an embroidery business, which ironically flourishes with ample customers in the Puritan community, however, with her money, Hester lavishly dresses Pearl (not herself) and donates the rest to charity. Hester is faced with nothing but contempt and alienation, yet I got the sense that she hasn’t hardened in face of all the hate; Pearl ON THE OTHER HAND won’t let anyone shame her mama! So cute. I am worried it’ll get Pearl in a tough spot in the future, though. 

One of the most interesting things in our reading, in my opinion, was Hester’s supernatural sense of others who shared her sin but in secret. “If truth were everywhere to be shown, a scarlet letter would blaze forth on many a bosom besides Hester Prynne’s?” (Hawthorne, 78). We should talk about this!!!

In chapter 7, we learn more about Pearl’s personality. Girlie is a wild thang. Hester feels that some epigenetics are at play in shaping Pearl’s fiery, spirited personality. This makes me really want to read about Hester’s life before the opening of the book; I hope Hawthorne infuses some flashbacks as we progress through the rest of the story! Back on topic, Pearl also seems to have a profound understanding, for a three year old, of the adversity which she and her mother face in the world. Hester really is’t sure what to make of Pearl’s capriciousness and her recurring fascination with her mother’s scarlet A, though.

On a different note, it truly is so sad that Hester (a mother who allows her daughter’s free spirit to develop and also tries her best to impart religious teachings so intently) would face the possibility of losing guardianship over her daughter. Especially when this potentiality is pursued by a governor whose “mansion might have befitted Aladdin’s palace, rather than the mansion of a grave old Puritan ruler” (92)... suspiciously hypocritical…

Before digging into my theories about chapter 8, I want to touch on the AMPLE mention of roses in this chapter. Hawthorne really pushes foreward the relationship between Pearl, the scarlet letter, Hester, and roses. Okay having gotten all that out of the way, let’s move on! 

Like we were thinking last class, Mr. Dimmesdale is currently the FRONT RUNNER for Mr. baby daddy! Chapter 8 details this loud and clear…

An impassioned Hester turns to the minister to back her up in her plea to keep Pearl. This decision is put in an impulsive light… Hmm. Is it really impulsive to beg for the help of one’s pastor? That feels logical. It would only be impulsive if Hester had chosen to ignore the presence of Mr. Dimmesdale up until that point. Why wouldn't you want to awknowledge him, Hester? Hmmm?? Right after Hester’s passionate plea to the pastor, the same ooh-ing over Mr. Dimmesdale’s quality of voice repeats from chapter 3. HMMM. You all know how I feel about that... very suspicious.

Just as Mr. Chilingsworth was described as having grown uglier (OUCH) by this time, Mr. Dimmesdale has grown sickly and melancholy. Have you, perhaps, been stricken with guilt, Mr Dimmesdale?!

Mr. Dimmesdale speaks in favor of Hester remaining Pearl’s guardian. It would be SO ironic if he is indeed Hester’s old lover, because Chillingsworth notes how Mr. Dimmesdale speaks with “a strange earnestness” about Hester’s right to parent Pearl (103).

To really drive Mr. Dimmesdale’s lead home, Pearl literally takes the minister’s hand and places it on her cheek. Just a few minutes before, she had resisted being touched by Mr. Wilson. What innate force has caused this shift in the little girl’s sociability? HMMM. Hester is riveted by the exchange and she goes as far as to say that Pearl’s heart “hardly twice in her lifetime had been softened by such gentleness” as in that moment (104). 

ADDITIONALLY, since Mr. Wilson says that every man can show “a father’s kindness toward” Pearl, why would Mr. Dimmesdale sneakily look around before giving Pearl a kiss on the forehead (104)? Why so shifty if you’re just showing the fatherly kindness you would show to any little girl. DOES IT PERHAPS HIT TOO CLOSE TO HOME, MR. DIMMESDALE?

I think we all know the answer 😇.

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Caroline's Blog Post - Scarlet Letter 1-4

    Hey guys it's been a minute, but I'm back with another book to talk about! This time, I'll be talking about The Scarlet Letter. For those of you who don't know the basics about this novel, it's basically about this woman, Hester Prynne, who moved to Boston, Massachusetts. She thought her husband was coming, but he never showed :( Then she had an affair with some random guy, had a kid, people found out, and now she has to wear a big letter A. Now that everyone's on the same page, let's talk.

    So we kick off the novel with a really beautiful description of Boston in the mid-1600s. Prison Lane is described as run down, gloomy, and depressing. The town prison has metal doors, wooden spikes, and seems like it's supposed to hold dangerous people. I don't know about y'all, but I've always wanted to live on the edge. Outside the jail, there's a crowd of people, ranging from young schoolboys to a suspicious duo at the back of the crowd (well get to them later). There's also a cemetery, so that's nice I guess. On a happier note, the Narrator notes that there's a rose bush that grows next to the prison's door. This might be a reminder that there's always something good that comes out of something bad.

    Then, we go on to meet the star of the show, Hester Prynne. She walks out of the jail, holding her baby in her arms. She walks over to a scaffold, where she has to stand so the crowd can shun her. All of the women are shouting degrading things at her, looking down on the letter A she's been forced to wear. That's not very feminist if you ask me. The A probably stands for adultery, because technically, she did cheat on her husband and have a kid with someone else. We then go to Hester's point of view, where scenes from her past life flash before her. She sees her parents in England, her husband, who is a misshapen scholar who has uneven shoulders. After her trip down memory lane, she squeezes her baby to her chest, causing it to cry out. Also, this is a good time to note that her child is an "it". Not very motherly in my opinion.

    In Chapter 3, we get a real treat! When Hester is standing on the scaffold, she sees her husband! Yep, the one with uneven shoulders. It's kinda rude that he actually did follow her to Boston, but never kept his promise of staying with her. He's dressed in European clothes, but also wears a Native American dress. Hester's husband signals to her that she shouldn't expose him as her husband. Because he asks about her crime, we can assume he's new in town. He was held captive by Native Americans, so I guess that's a somewhat valid excuse for taking so long. Once the husband is caught up to date, Governor Bellingham, Reverend Wilson, and Reverend Dimmesdale are introduced as the judges. Dimmesdale is slightly aggressive, demanding that Hester reveal who the father is. Hester refuses, and says that her child doesn't need a father, because it (I'm getting hype for the gender reveal) will have the Heavenly Father. Displeased, Wilson lectures Hester about sin, which makes her scarlet letter glow.

    Finally, when Hester is back in her cell, she meets her husband face-to-face, when he's called to give her medicine. We find out the husband's name is Roger Chillingworth too. What a comforting last name! Chillingworth is in Hester's cell because he said that he can make Hester more willing to work with the authorities. Because she recognizes him, she initially refuses to drink the medicine Chillingworth provides because she thinks it's poison. I mean, I don't blame her. Then, Chillingworth says that he wants her to live (aww how sweet!), because he wants revenge (oh...) He also reflects on how he knows he would never be able to make Hester happy. I mean he's quick to assume because it seems like he didn't really try. After this reflection, Chillingworth urges Hester to tell him who her lover is. Again, she says no. Hester also promises not to tell anyone who Chillingworth actually is, to his delight. His quick joyful response leads Hester to think that he is the Devil, coming to haunt her soul. Her husband then says it's not her soul that's in jeopardy, implying that he's on a mission to find her lover. This is starting to sound like an unhealthy obsession.