Flashcards for The Scarlet Letter

Arthur Dimmesdale

Arthur Dimmesdale is a young and respected Puritan minister in Boston, whose hidden affair with Hester Prynne lies at the heart of the novel’s moral and psychological conflict.

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Governor Bellingham

Governor Bellingham is a historical figure set against the backdrop of Hawthorne's Puritan Boston, acting as the colony's chief civil authority and a symbol of the theocratic state's dominance over individual lives.

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Hester Prynne

Hester Prynne stands at the heart of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, both morally and narratively.

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Mistress Hibbins

Mistress Hibbins is a minor yet symbolically potent figure in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, serving as the novel's clearest representation of supernatural evil and moral failing.

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Pearl

Pearl is Hester Prynne's young daughter, born from the secret affair between Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale.

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Reverend John Wilson

Reverend John Wilson is Boston's oldest and most respected clergyman in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, serving as the voice of Puritan orthodoxy throughout the novel.

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Roger Chillingworth

Roger Chillingworth is the main antagonist in The Scarlet Letter.

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The Narrator (Custom House Surveyor)

The Narrator, who is a Surveyor of the Custom House in Salem, acts as Hawthorne's semi-autobiographical lens for the main narrative.

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“Do I feel joy again? I deemed the germ of it dead in me! O Hester, thou art my better angel!”

This passionate outburst comes from Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale during his private conversation with Hester Prynne in Chapter 17 ("The Pastor and His Parishioner").

Arthur Dimmesdale · Chapter 17: The Pastor and His Parishioner

“We dream in our waking moments, and walk in our sleep.”

This haunting line is found in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850), spoken by the narrator in the novel's introspective and psychologically nuanced style.

Narrator (Hawthorne) · The Custom-House (Introductory Sketch)

“On one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems.”

This line is found in Chapter 1 ("The Prison-Door") of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850), told through Hawthorne's all-knowing third-person narrator.

Narrator (Hawthorne) · Chapter 1: The Prison-Door

“She had not known the weight, until she felt the freedom.”

This line comes from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850) and is shared by the narrator while reflecting on Hester Prynne's inner turmoil after her meeting with Dimmesdale in Chapter 18, "A Flood of Sunshine."

Narrator (Nathaniel Hawthorne) · Chapter 18: A Flood of Sunshine

“It is a curious subject of observation and inquiry, whether hatred and love be not the same thing at bottom.”

This reflection appears in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850), presented by the narrator in the chapter "The Leech and His Patient" (often Chapter 11).

Narrator (Hawthorne) · Chapter 11: The Interior of a Heart (contextually linked to 'The Leech and His Patient', Chapter 10)

“Be true! Be true! Be true! Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred!”

This powerful statement appears in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850), delivered by the all-knowing narrator during a critical moment in the story, when Dimmesdale's hidden guilt is finally revealed.

The Narrator (Nathaniel Hawthorne) · Chapter 24 — Conclusion

“Mother, I have told all I know. I told thee what I had not seen before — the scarlet letter, and of thee!”

This line is spoken by Pearl, Hester Prynne's young daughter, in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.

Pearl

“God gave her the child, and gave her, too, an instinctive knowledge of its nature.”

This line is spoken by the narrator in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850), in the chapter titled "Hester and Pearl" (Chapter VI).

Narrator (Hawthorne) · Chapter VI: Pearl

“In giving up all her individuality, she would become the general symbol at which the preacher and moralist might point.”

This line is from Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850), spoken by the novel's third-person omniscient narrator, who reflects on Hester Prynne's mental and social state after years of wearing the scarlet "A." It appears in the chapter titled "Another View of Hester" (Chapter 13), where the narrator contemplates how Puritan society has tried to strip Hester of her identity, reducing her to a mere emblem of sin and shame.

Narrator (Hawthorne) · Chapter 13: Another View of Hester

“What we did had a consecration of its own.”

This line is spoken by Hester Prynne to Arthur Dimmesdale during their secret meeting in the forest (Chapter 17, "The Pastor and His Parishioner").

Hester Prynne · Chapter 17 – "The Pastor and His Parishioner"

“The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread.”

This line appears in Chapter 13 ("Another View of Hester") of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850).

Narrator (Hawthorne) · Chapter 13: Another View of Hester

“No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true.”

This observation appears in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850) and is expressed by the all-knowing narrator, particularly in relation to Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.

Omniscient Narrator · 20 (The Minister in a Maze)

Pearl

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Pearl—Hester Prynne's daughter born out of wedlock—serves as a living embodiment of sin, truth, and redemption.

The Black Man (The Devil)

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the Black Man — a Puritan folk representation of the Devil — embodies the alluring yet corrupting influence of secret sin and the mental anguish it brings.

The Forest

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the forest embodies the wild side of human nature, moral uncertainty, and a break from the strict codes of Puritan society.

The Rosebush

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the wild rosebush next to the prison door highlights the tension between natural beauty and human suffering, showing that mercy and moral complexity can exist even in a harsh society.

The Scaffold

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the scaffold symbolizes public confession, moral judgment, and the unavoidable need for truth.

The Scarlet Letter 'A'

In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the embroidered letter "A" serves as the novel's key, shape-shifting symbol.

Symbolism

The scarlet letter 'A' stands out as the novel's central symbol, yet Hawthorne deliberately leaves its meaning ambiguous.

Allegory

The novel serves as a sustained allegory where each major character represents a concept.

Irony

Hawthorne's irony runs deep in the novel's narrative voice, which often says less or even the opposite of what it intends.

Extended Metaphor

Hawthorne uses an extended metaphor that links light and darkness to moral clarity and secrecy.

Imagery

Hawthorne's imagery is rich with plants and vibrant colors, crafting a sensory experience that supports his moral themes.

Personification

Hawthorne often gives moral agency to inanimate forces, particularly in how he portrays the Puritan community, which behaves like a unified judging entity.

Pathetic Fallacy

The natural world in the novel reflects the emotional and moral states of the characters, serving as a clear example of pathetic fallacy.

Dramatic Monologue

Though it's a novel, The Scarlet Letter features several passages that act like dramatic monologues, especially in Dimmesdale's Election Day sermon and his final confession on the scaffold.

Motif

The scaffold serves as a key structural motif in the novel, appearing in three carefully placed scenes that outline the narrative's beginning, middle, and end.

Epigraph

Hawthorne starts the novel with "The Custom-House," an extensive introductory sketch that serves as a large epigraph, setting the stage and providing irony for everything that follows.

Juxtaposition

Hawthorne organizes the entire novel by contrasting opposing moral and social spaces.

Conceit

Hawthorne's central idea is the comparison between Chillingworth's psychological probing of Dimmesdale and a doctor's dissection of a living body — or even more sinister, the Devil's claim on a soul.