The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Seven
In this chapter, Hester finally confesses Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is her husband and that she made a pact with him. Arthur has big problems dealing with that. He seems not able to forgive her. But why? First, he is a pastor and knows the bible by heart. One of Jesus' most important teachings is that you shall forgive. Because Dimmesdale devoted his life to God he should live like he wants human beings to live.
And furthermore, it seems he forgot that Hester forgave him too. He stayed in disguised for years when she suffered for both of them. Of course, he suffered too - probably more than she did. But if he would have stood up to avouch it would have helped Hester a lot. But he was too scared.
So in my opinion he doesn't have the right to be unforgiving. I don't know if he actually realized that in the end, maybe not, but he shows mercy eventually.
Friday, November 05, 2010
The Scarlet Letter 36
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Six
The title of chapter seventeen in 'The Pastor and his Parishioner' so Hawthorne wants to point out Dimmesdale's function as a pastor (for comparison: in chapter twenty he is named minister) and Hester's position as his parishioner. His job is to take of the members of Boston's church and so of Hester too. He should listen to their sorrows and release them from their guilt (shrift). Also have an advice for him. In this chapter however, their parts are switched: Hester listens to him and has a plan up her sleeve. She says what to do to get out of their misery. He in contrast is not able to see clear and is too weak.
This situation shows the role allocation between them; she has the strong part of them. Dimmesdale just follows her.
I am actually surprised that such a strong woman used to (and still does) love such a confused man. Maybe he used to be like her but the long lasting suffering destroyed so much of his character that he is not able to think himself anymore.
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Six
The title of chapter seventeen in 'The Pastor and his Parishioner' so Hawthorne wants to point out Dimmesdale's function as a pastor (for comparison: in chapter twenty he is named minister) and Hester's position as his parishioner. His job is to take of the members of Boston's church and so of Hester too. He should listen to their sorrows and release them from their guilt (shrift). Also have an advice for him. In this chapter however, their parts are switched: Hester listens to him and has a plan up her sleeve. She says what to do to get out of their misery. He in contrast is not able to see clear and is too weak.
This situation shows the role allocation between them; she has the strong part of them. Dimmesdale just follows her.
I am actually surprised that such a strong woman used to (and still does) love such a confused man. Maybe he used to be like her but the long lasting suffering destroyed so much of his character that he is not able to think himself anymore.
Thursday, November 04, 2010
Words Of The Day
Esoteric
I don't want you to know that because it is esoteric.
Vitiate
A German saying is that when you are in love you vitiate the soup because you put too much salt in it.
I don't want you to know that because it is esoteric.
Vitiate
A German saying is that when you are in love you vitiate the soup because you put too much salt in it.
The Revolutionary War - Project
Who is Who?
Helen - Sir Henry Moore, a British colonial leader who served as royal Governor o Providence of New York from 1765 to 1769.
The Scarlet Letter 35
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Five
Dimmesdale and Hester begin to talk to each other again after seven years. She realizes he had changed a lot during this time. The pain he had to endure made him weak and unable to go on in his life. He is trapped in his embittered soul that is angry at the Puritan's (for not letting him love the way he wants to) and at himself (for not being able to change his situation). So she starts to build him up again. She tries to draw his attention to the good actions he does. He is allowed to use them to make himself feel better, as signs for repentance and then as guerdon. She tries to show him they have suffered enough now; now it is time to go on.
In fact, he has a big problem with forgiving - although he is a priest of christianity and one of Jesus' "rules" is to forgive other people. So why does Dimmesdale have such a hard time with that?
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Five
Dimmesdale and Hester begin to talk to each other again after seven years. She realizes he had changed a lot during this time. The pain he had to endure made him weak and unable to go on in his life. He is trapped in his embittered soul that is angry at the Puritan's (for not letting him love the way he wants to) and at himself (for not being able to change his situation). So she starts to build him up again. She tries to draw his attention to the good actions he does. He is allowed to use them to make himself feel better, as signs for repentance and then as guerdon. She tries to show him they have suffered enough now; now it is time to go on.
“You wrong yourself in this. You have deeply and sorely repented. Your sin is left behind you, in the days long past. Your present life is not less holy, in very truth, than it seems in people’s eyes. Is there no reality in the penitence thus sealed and witnessed by good works? And wherefore should it not bring you peace?”She tells him what she did for herself. She worked so much for other people until she feels like she atoned enough. Now she wants him to do the same thing, because then they are able to live together in happiness. But Dimmesdale does not deal as easy as she does with his sin. For him it is not that uncomplicated to forgive himself.
In fact, he has a big problem with forgiving - although he is a priest of christianity and one of Jesus' "rules" is to forgive other people. So why does Dimmesdale have such a hard time with that?
The Scarlet Letter 34
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Four
After Dimmesdale and Hester touch each other to make sure 1. they are alive and 2. that their old connection still exists, they walk to
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Four
After Dimmesdale and Hester touch each other to make sure 1. they are alive and 2. that their old connection still exists, they walk to
"(sit) down on the heap of moss where she and Pearl had before been sitting."This is the first inication of Pearl being left aside. Now it is not Hester and Pearl, but Hester and Arthur. They are going to exclude her from their relationship because he simply replaces her. Of course, Pearl does not like this. Later, a physical boundary appears: The brook. So Hawthorne lets her feel her loneliness in two ways.
The Scarlet Letter 33
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Three
Hester and Arthur meet in the forest. Pearl is sent away to play somewhere alone. The first thing they say is asking each other whether they are alive. An untypical beginning of a conversation, but for them it might be the most important thing to know. They want to make sure that it is not only a "hollow body" (the mind already died because of its pain). After that, Dimmesdale touches Hester's hand; this movement is breaking an imaginary spell lying over them. Although their hands are both "chill as death" (any energy was sucked out), it recreates their old connection. Now they are able to talk about their feelings.
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Three
Hester and Arthur meet in the forest. Pearl is sent away to play somewhere alone. The first thing they say is asking each other whether they are alive. An untypical beginning of a conversation, but for them it might be the most important thing to know. They want to make sure that it is not only a "hollow body" (the mind already died because of its pain). After that, Dimmesdale touches Hester's hand; this movement is breaking an imaginary spell lying over them. Although their hands are both "chill as death" (any energy was sucked out), it recreates their old connection. Now they are able to talk about their feelings.
The Scarlet Letter 32
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Two
Arthur Dimmesdale appears to be petrified. Due to the previous seven years he has become incredibly weak and lifeless. All the actions he does in the book are always motivated by someone else or happen in darkness. In the first scene he appears, the governor called on him to make Hester speak the sinner's name. Then, he moves with Chillingworth in a house because of the Puritans telling him to do so. The only self-initiated action was when he stepped on the scaffold - nightly. It might be the right step in the right direction, but still he is not fully convinced of what he is doing. If he was then he would have chosen the broad daylight to confess his sin. The plan to escape from Boston was also proposed by Hester. Dimmesdale is not able to make his own ideas because his mind is caught in shock about his pain. Maybe this is a sort of self-protection. Because if he was living in the here and now he would have to deal with his misery. This consciousness might kill him from the inside, so his body rather choses to live in trance than to die.
Chapter Seventeen
Entry Thirty-Two
Arthur Dimmesdale appears to be petrified. Due to the previous seven years he has become incredibly weak and lifeless. All the actions he does in the book are always motivated by someone else or happen in darkness. In the first scene he appears, the governor called on him to make Hester speak the sinner's name. Then, he moves with Chillingworth in a house because of the Puritans telling him to do so. The only self-initiated action was when he stepped on the scaffold - nightly. It might be the right step in the right direction, but still he is not fully convinced of what he is doing. If he was then he would have chosen the broad daylight to confess his sin. The plan to escape from Boston was also proposed by Hester. Dimmesdale is not able to make his own ideas because his mind is caught in shock about his pain. Maybe this is a sort of self-protection. Because if he was living in the here and now he would have to deal with his misery. This consciousness might kill him from the inside, so his body rather choses to live in trance than to die.
Wednesday, November 03, 2010
The Scarlet Letter 31
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Thirty-One
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Thirty-One
"So Pearl, who had enough of shadow in her own little life [...] She set herself, therefore, to gathering violets and wood-anemones, and some scarlet columbines that she found growing in the crevices of a high rock."Pearl, being sent away from Hester because she wants to talk to Dimmesdale in privacy, walks away to pick some flowers. Noticeable is that all three flowers are red. Again is it mentioned that her life is surrounded of blackness. To escape from it she turns to red flowers, an image symbolizing vitality, energy, passion and generally activity. This is what she longs for: A life in which she pulls the strings. She doesn't want to live in a society that has the power to determine over her future. Neither does she want to end up like her mother who accepted the Puritan rules. But it is hard for her to get to this status because "it is growing in the crevices of a high rock." The high rock could stand for the situation she is stuck in at the moment. She is not allowed to be happy or to live in freedom as she wants to, but she has to behave appropriately (how Boston expects an Adulterer's child to live). It is a severe, strict and dreary life which she is not able to change (-> a big rock). Only her mother (she in turn needs Dimmesdale) is able to help her out of her miserable life.
Words Of The Day
opaque
The forest in "The Scarlet Letter" is described as opaque and mysterious. It contains a lot of symbols.
propensity
My propensity to procrastinate is going to kill me someday.
The forest in "The Scarlet Letter" is described as opaque and mysterious. It contains a lot of symbols.
propensity
My propensity to procrastinate is going to kill me someday.
The Scarlet Letter 30
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Thirty
Pearl and Hester sit down in the forest at a place where they are invisible to persons walking by. Next to them, a stream runs down. The picture of the brook created by Hawthorne looks magical to me, like something supernatural appearing in the middle of a dark and mysterious forest. The big, old trees let their leaves hang over it as protection, on the ground of the water are pebbles and brown, sparkling sand. In some parts, the sunlight is reflected, but soon it disappears and gets lost in the woods. To Hester and Pearl, it seems like the the intention of the forest is to make sure that the brook in its liveliness does not reveal long kept secrets. They compare it to a young child which normally are unexperienced, venturous, not afraid of anything and always in a good mood. But this child is different: It is
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Thirty
Pearl and Hester sit down in the forest at a place where they are invisible to persons walking by. Next to them, a stream runs down. The picture of the brook created by Hawthorne looks magical to me, like something supernatural appearing in the middle of a dark and mysterious forest. The big, old trees let their leaves hang over it as protection, on the ground of the water are pebbles and brown, sparkling sand. In some parts, the sunlight is reflected, but soon it disappears and gets lost in the woods. To Hester and Pearl, it seems like the the intention of the forest is to make sure that the brook in its liveliness does not reveal long kept secrets. They compare it to a young child which normally are unexperienced, venturous, not afraid of anything and always in a good mood. But this child is different: It is
"kind, quiet, soothing, but melancholy."All in all, it is a sad child. For Pearl it is hard to "listen" to the brook's sad mood because she is the total opposite of it. She never gets sad and is always full of temperament. So she tells the stream to
"Pluck up a spirit, and (not to be) sighing and murmuring all the time.”Hawthorne mentions that both of them have the same origin. Pearl and the brook's roots come from something mysterious and dark (the forest and adultery). But in contrast to the stream, Pearl doesn't let it get her down. She is happy and sparkly as ever.
The Scarlet Letter 29
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Nine
Considered superficially, she uses the sunshine as an excuse so she doesn't have to tell the truth or even make something up (to lie). But there could be a deeper meaning in it. The sunlight represents freedom and happiness. By sending Pearl there, she wants her to get out of the darkness before she gets caught in it. But the little girl has to hurry because there will be a point in life when it gets too late to escape from it.
This is another loving action from Hester. She wants Pearl to have a better life than hers is
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Nine
Pearl asks her mother if she does not get an "A" stuck on her chest like Hester does. Until now, she thought it would be a normal development. Hester avoids answering this question and sends her back to play.
“Will not it come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?”
"Run away, child,” answered her mother, “and catch the sunshine. It will soon be gone."
Considered superficially, she uses the sunshine as an excuse so she doesn't have to tell the truth or even make something up (to lie). But there could be a deeper meaning in it. The sunlight represents freedom and happiness. By sending Pearl there, she wants her to get out of the darkness before she gets caught in it. But the little girl has to hurry because there will be a point in life when it gets too late to escape from it.
This is another loving action from Hester. She wants Pearl to have a better life than hers is
The Scarlet Letter 28
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Eight
After Pearl told her mother what she knows about the Black Man Hester is wondering why she knows all that. Pearl replies that "it was the old woman in the chimney corner, at the sick house where you watched last night.” Further, she explains this lady talked about many people signing in his black and mysterious book. Mistress Hibbins did so too. She was titled as a witch in previous chapters. A witch does not symbolize total evilness, they are more women who were greatly wronged since they were burned at the stake. People believed they were able to jinx persons and therefore could will everyone they wanted to (which has to be regarded as a sin).
In the next question, Pearl wants to know whether her mother goes to meet the Black Man too. At this point, another person could be meant with the Black Man:
But when she would meet with Chillingworth the "A" would glow since it is made by Chillingworth (as I explained in previous blog entries). And as soon it gets closer to its origin, their connection might become stronger so that it starts to glow.
Anyway, Hester negates meeting with the Black Man in the night.
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Eight
After Pearl told her mother what she knows about the Black Man Hester is wondering why she knows all that. Pearl replies that "it was the old woman in the chimney corner, at the sick house where you watched last night.” Further, she explains this lady talked about many people signing in his black and mysterious book. Mistress Hibbins did so too. She was titled as a witch in previous chapters. A witch does not symbolize total evilness, they are more women who were greatly wronged since they were burned at the stake. People believed they were able to jinx persons and therefore could will everyone they wanted to (which has to be regarded as a sin).
In the next question, Pearl wants to know whether her mother goes to meet the Black Man too. At this point, another person could be meant with the Black Man:
"And, mother, the old dame said that this scarlet letter was the Black Man’s mark on thee, and that it glows like a red flame when thou meetest him at midnight, here in the dark wood. Is it true, mother? And dost thou go to meet him in the night-time?"Hester Prynne could meet Dimmesdale nightly. To cover their secret meeting they choose the forest which is dark and keeps every secret silently. But because they are not allowed to meet (1. it would be against the Puritan rules, 2. Hester would deny Pearl and 3. Dimmesdale did not reveal that he is the father of Pearl), the "A" is gleaming as a warning.
But when she would meet with Chillingworth the "A" would glow since it is made by Chillingworth (as I explained in previous blog entries). And as soon it gets closer to its origin, their connection might become stronger so that it starts to glow.
Anyway, Hester negates meeting with the Black Man in the night.
The Scarlet Letter 27
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Seven
After Pearl stoppes catching sunshine she asks her mother for telling her a story. But she doesn't want to hear just any story, no, she wants to hear something about the Black Man.
Meant by the term The Black Man is Roger Chillingworth, unseen striking terror into people's hearts.
The book he carries around in Pearls story is his pacts he makes. She exactly describes the situation when Hester promised him to never reveal who Roger Chillingworth really is. She signed an invisible agreement which she never dared to break. The question whether her mother had ever met him seems already answered by Pearl herself. She knows it. Basically, she already revealed everyone's hidden secret, she's only missing their relation and context.
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Seven
After Pearl stoppes catching sunshine she asks her mother for telling her a story. But she doesn't want to hear just any story, no, she wants to hear something about the Black Man.
“How he haunts this forest, and carries a book with him,—a big, heavy book, with iron clasps; and how this ugly Black Man offers his book and an iron pen to every body that meets him here among the trees; and they are to write their names with their own blood. And then he sets his mark on their bosoms! Didst thou ever meet the Black Man, mother?”By giving her mother such a detailed description of what she wants to hear, it actually becomes redundant to tell her a story about it. Pearl just needs a reason to talk about the Black Man.
Meant by the term The Black Man is Roger Chillingworth, unseen striking terror into people's hearts.
The book he carries around in Pearls story is his pacts he makes. She exactly describes the situation when Hester promised him to never reveal who Roger Chillingworth really is. She signed an invisible agreement which she never dared to break. The question whether her mother had ever met him seems already answered by Pearl herself. She knows it. Basically, she already revealed everyone's hidden secret, she's only missing their relation and context.
The Scarlet Letter 26
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Six
The forest reflects all that by holding off its rays of sunshine. Pearl notices this and says to her mother:
There is another message behind this calling.
But to me she doesn't sound like she is afraid of it. Why? Is she already so callous that she doesn't care about an unhappy life? Or did she already become so adult that she is able to deal with this knowledge?
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Six
"(The road) straggled onward into the mystery of the primeval forest. This hemmed it in so narrowly, and stood so black and dense on either side, and disclosed such imperfect glimpses of the sky above, that, to Hester’s mind, it imaged not amiss the moral wilderness in which she had so long been wandering."Hester Prynne and Pearl are on their way into the forest because Hester wants to reveal Dimmesdale the truth. In this moment, the forest represents a mysterious, unfamiliar and looming. She doesn't know what is going to happen after he learned the truth so she is in an uncertain mood.
The forest reflects all that by holding off its rays of sunshine. Pearl notices this and says to her mother:
“Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Now, see! There it is, playing, a good way off. Stand you here, and let me run and catch it. I am but a child. It will not flee from me; for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”The sunshine stays away from Hester because it is afraid of the dark and evil vibrancy of the "A". Pearl associates sunshine with something lovely that everyone should possess. One of her favorite games is trying to catch it. By offering her mother to go grab it for her she shows love. She doesn't want her mother to be sad and depressed (to remain in the shadow) but to feel happy and to enjoy her life (to step out into the sunshine). At the same time, she knows that she is not like her mother trapped in darkness but is able to stand on the bright side of life. So Pearl is able to be in sunlight and she wants to use it for making her mother stand there too.
There is another message behind this calling.
"I am but a child. It will not flee from me; for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”Adults are caught in a sad and lonesome life. They suffer under a heavy cloud hanging over them which carries around a big and unsolvable secret. Children are carefree and can live in joy. But as soon as they grow up their life gets dark. This is Pearl's view of the world. She expects this to happen for herself too.
But to me she doesn't sound like she is afraid of it. Why? Is she already so callous that she doesn't care about an unhappy life? Or did she already become so adult that she is able to deal with this knowledge?
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
The Scarlet Letter 25
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Five
Like in many chapters before, this chapter mentions the forest again. Pearl and Hester walk through it after they had the discussion about Pearl wanting to know the truth behind the "A".The forest is like a border seperating the Puritan society from Hester's house (seperating rules and therefore pain and repressing her real feelings from her soul).
A forest stands for safety, security and protection from storms, rain etc. But it also has something mysterious. You never know what creatures are hiding in the dark and endless shadows coming from big, old trees.
In this book, the forest changes its meanings several times, depending who was walking through it. For Pearl, for instance, it is like her home since she is associated with nature and a forest represents pure nature. So when she walks through it it must seem to her like coming home.
Chapter Sixteen
Entry Twenty-Five
Like in many chapters before, this chapter mentions the forest again. Pearl and Hester walk through it after they had the discussion about Pearl wanting to know the truth behind the "A".A forest stands for safety, security and protection from storms, rain etc. But it also has something mysterious. You never know what creatures are hiding in the dark and endless shadows coming from big, old trees.
In this book, the forest changes its meanings several times, depending who was walking through it. For Pearl, for instance, it is like her home since she is associated with nature and a forest represents pure nature. So when she walks through it it must seem to her like coming home.
The Scarlet Letter 24
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Fifteen
Entry Twenty-Four
Hester's relationship to Pearl suddenly changes when she realizes that Pearl is not
This refers back to Chillingworth. He is the black light leading into the tunnel, surrounding its inner parts and sticking around until you come to the end of it. And then you see Pearl, a ray of light lighting up the evil gloom. It guides you safely to the tunnel's end and makes sure you are not swallowed up by the darkness.
For a brief moment, Hester Prynne thinks about telling Pearl everything. That would make Pearl a friend and sort of confederate at the same time. But to protect her she decided against doing so.
I think, with this decision she shows real motherly love. It probably is the first real showing of affection towards Pearl. Although it would help Hester dealing with her soul's pain she rather protects her daughter from being pulled into the difficulty of living an adult's life. Especially in the Puritan society.
Chapter Fifteen
Entry Twenty-Four
Hester's relationship to Pearl suddenly changes when she realizes that Pearl is not
"a design of justice and retribution"but rather
" (has a) purpose of mercy and beneficence."Pearl is not only there to remind Hester of her sin and to make sure she never forgets it, but also as a sign of hope that there will be better times if she keeps on going on, and that forgiveness still exists. She has a helping function. She can help her mother out of her miserable situation (for instance, she insists on Dimmesdale proving his love to them publicly -> she knows that this is the way to go if Dimmesdale and Hester want to be happy - together or not); she is like a light shining at the end of a long and dark tunnel.
This refers back to Chillingworth. He is the black light leading into the tunnel, surrounding its inner parts and sticking around until you come to the end of it. And then you see Pearl, a ray of light lighting up the evil gloom. It guides you safely to the tunnel's end and makes sure you are not swallowed up by the darkness.
For a brief moment, Hester Prynne thinks about telling Pearl everything. That would make Pearl a friend and sort of confederate at the same time. But to protect her she decided against doing so.
I think, with this decision she shows real motherly love. It probably is the first real showing of affection towards Pearl. Although it would help Hester dealing with her soul's pain she rather protects her daughter from being pulled into the difficulty of living an adult's life. Especially in the Puritan society.
The Scarlet Letter 23
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Fifteen
Entry Twenty-Three
It must be very hard for Pearl growing up under this condition. Maybe it was mutual (so maybe Pearl didn't know how to love her mother, too) but I think this attitude towards her daughter made Pearl the way she is. I am sure Hester didn't have a bad intention (she just couldn't find any connection to a child embodying her sin), but she made Pearl feel like a person who doesn't belong to the earth. Her strangeness is due to how Hester treated her -> like a symbol, a thing, an abstract term. It is only naturally that Pearl developes in a not normal way.
Chapter Fifteen
Entry Twenty-Three
"But in good earnest now, mother dear, what does this scarlet letter mean?—and why dost thou wear it on thy bosom?—and why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?”With asking her mother these questions, Pearl makes Hester see her daughter in a different light. Until now, she used to love Pearl in a difficult way. It was more a cold and vulnerable type of love (Hawthorne compares it to an April breeze), never able to grab and hold on to.
It must be very hard for Pearl growing up under this condition. Maybe it was mutual (so maybe Pearl didn't know how to love her mother, too) but I think this attitude towards her daughter made Pearl the way she is. I am sure Hester didn't have a bad intention (she just couldn't find any connection to a child embodying her sin), but she made Pearl feel like a person who doesn't belong to the earth. Her strangeness is due to how Hester treated her -> like a symbol, a thing, an abstract term. It is only naturally that Pearl developes in a not normal way.
The Scarlet Letter 22
The Scarlet Letter
Chapter Fifteen
Entry Twenty-Two
Pearl passes the time she has to wait for her mother with playing in nature. Out of a clear blue sky she decides to form an "A" similar to her mother's. It is made out of green grass which she sticks on her dress.
When Hester returns, she is so surprised that she doesn't know how to react. Acting on instinct, she asks Pearl whether she actually knows the meaning of the "A" or why Hester is wearing it. She replies:
This astonished Hester, too. Her first thought is that it is just a strange coincidence that she actually hit the mark, but then she struggles with this thought: She definitely doesn't put it past her daughter to be clever enough (or is it cleverness at all? Maybe she doesn't put it past her because she is a little weird anyway...).
To make sure Pearl doesn't know too much she asks her what she means by assuming this. She answers that is all she knows and poses counter questions:
Chapter Fifteen
Entry Twenty-Two
Pearl passes the time she has to wait for her mother with playing in nature. Out of a clear blue sky she decides to form an "A" similar to her mother's. It is made out of green grass which she sticks on her dress.
When Hester returns, she is so surprised that she doesn't know how to react. Acting on instinct, she asks Pearl whether she actually knows the meaning of the "A" or why Hester is wearing it. She replies:
“It is for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart!”So for some reason Pearl saw the connection between her mother and Dimmesdale. This is something very remarkable since Pearl is still very young and not able to understand anything like adultery, sex or cheating on someone. So she shouldn't be able to link these two adults but obviously she is.
This astonished Hester, too. Her first thought is that it is just a strange coincidence that she actually hit the mark, but then she struggles with this thought: She definitely doesn't put it past her daughter to be clever enough (or is it cleverness at all? Maybe she doesn't put it past her because she is a little weird anyway...).
To make sure Pearl doesn't know too much she asks her what she means by assuming this. She answers that is all she knows and poses counter questions:
"What does this scarlet letter mean?—and why dost thou wear it on thy bosom?—and why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?”She seems to use the unique opportunity to solve the big secret surrounding her mother. But she doesn't get an answer so far.
Words Of The Day
Opaque - n, v
not able to be seen through; not transparent
Propensity - n
an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way
Esoteric - adj
intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest
Vitiated - adj
to spoil or impair the quality or efficiency
Magnate - n
a wealthy and influential person, esp. in business
Malleable - adj
(of a metal or other material) able to be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape without breaking or cracking
Dearth - n
a scarcity or lack of something
Florid - adj
having a red or flushed complexion, elaborately or excessively intricate or complicated, (of a disease or its manifestations) occurring in a fully developed form
Evanescent - adj
soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing
Veneration - n
regard with great respect; revere
not able to be seen through; not transparent
Propensity - n
an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way
Esoteric - adj
intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest
Vitiated - adj
to spoil or impair the quality or efficiency
Magnate - n
a wealthy and influential person, esp. in business
Malleable - adj
(of a metal or other material) able to be hammered or pressed permanently out of shape without breaking or cracking
Dearth - n
a scarcity or lack of something
Florid - adj
having a red or flushed complexion, elaborately or excessively intricate or complicated, (of a disease or its manifestations) occurring in a fully developed form
Evanescent - adj
soon passing out of sight, memory, or existence; quickly fading or disappearing
Veneration - n
regard with great respect; revere
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