My Rant on Chapters 16-19

I wish not to spend my post raging about Hawthorne's advanced word choice nor his explaining of every detail to ensure that the reader takes from his book the message he had hoped to instill. Rather, I shall focus the reactionary portion of my post complaining about the evolution of Hester Prynne's character - an evolution which I for one is not too fond of. Up until this point in the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, I owed all respect to Hester Prynne - only to be completely swayed by the early events of these chapters. You see, in the past, I regarded Hester as symbol of strength. She may have sinned, but she wore her shame proudly, unlike the rest of the Puritan society. Hester wasn't afraid of what people thought of her - and for the longest time, I didn't think she cared either. She welcomed society's judgement, which I respected - for everyone sins at some point, but she was the only person who was willing to acknowledge what she did. Even in such unforgiving a community, Hester was able to withstand the blunt of damage cast at her by the other settlers. Keep in mind, these were the same settlers that keep their sins to themselves out of fear of what the society would think of them. I admired Hester so solely because she was different in that sense.

Things change though in the sixteenth chapter of the novel. The chapter begins with Hester taking Pearl with her to the forest. She had hoped to meet Dimmesdale there to unveil to him the true identity of Roger Chillingworth and to discuss with him what to do with their lives and their secret. It was in this part of the novel that I came across this passage: "'Doth the universe lie within the compass of yonder town, which only a little time ago was but a leaf-strewn desert, as lonely as this around us? Whither leads yonder forest-track? Backward to the settlement, thou sayest! Yes; but onward, too. Deeper it goes, and deeper, into the wilderness, less plainly to be seen at every step, until, some few miles hence, the yellow leaves will show no vestige of the white man's tread. There thou art free! [...] The future is yet full of trial and success. There is happiness to be enjoyed! There is good to be done! Exchange this false life of thine for a true one [...]. Give up this name of Arthur Dimmesdale, and make thyself another [...] such as thou canst wear without fear or shame'" (Hawthorne 178-79). Ina nutshell, this passage exhibits Hester telling Dimmesdale that they should run away from their shame. They could go elsewhere and pretend as though it never happened. This is like the rest of the Puritan society trying to pretend like they themselves do sin (or as though their own sins never happen). I makes me really angry to hear this from Hester. The whole time, I thought she wore her shame proudly and did not try to shrink away from it out of cowardice. And then, this happens, and she talks about running away from her sins and pretending they never happened like...

Sigh. What more can I say? People will be people I suppose. We are all cowards and disappointments to the ideals that we all have. Moving on to my questions:

2. What significance can be attributed to the play of sunlight on Pearl and Hester?

When I first read through the chapters, I thought it was kind of ironic how the sunlight seems to shun Hester like society does. Almost the whole time in the forest, the sunlight would disappear from wherever Hester was present. Pearl points out at one point "'[The] sunlight 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 [...].' Pearl set forth, at a great pace, and, as Hester smiled to perceive, did actually catch the sunshine, and stood laughing in the midst of it, all brightened by its splendor, and scintillating with the vivacity excited by rapid motion" (Hawthorne 165-66). Even though the sunlight keeps out of the way of Hester, it does not seem to flee from Pearl when she is near. I think this shows that even though society may shun Hester for her sin, they do not exactly shun Pearl in the same sense. It really isn't her fault that she is intertwined in such a situation - she was but a product of her mother's sin. The detail about Pearl trying to catch the sunlight seems to me like she has a certain power over the sunlight - and thus a certain power over the society. I believe the play of sunlight in the forest is meant to show that Pearl is but a reminder to everyone about their own sins. No matter how hard they try to conceal them, a part of it will always be present to haunt them and control them - like Pearl does to the sunlight.

Pearl holding the sun in her hands.

3. What story does Pearl hear of her mother's involvement with the Black Man of the Forest?

Pearl hears that there is a "Black Man" that dwells in the forest and that he keeps a book of name with him. Whenever he encounters someone new, he asks them to sign the book. From then on, the signer would bear a symbol on his/her chest - just like Hester Prynne and her scarlet letter. Pearl becomes curious as to the whereabouts of her mother's letter and whether or not it has any correlation with this "Black Man" and whether or not Dimmesdale also has one. Hester explains to her after a while that she is obligated to wear her letter because of the "Black Man". She doesn't come out and just say that Chillingworth is the "Black Man", but it is implied. Chillingworth was the reason she wore her letter so miserably in the moment. He was also the reason that Dimmesdale would torture himself day-in and day-out. They have both made a pact with the "Black Man" - the devil - who now comes to haunt them.

The "Black Man's" book of souls.