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.
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