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.

character

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.

character

Hester Prynne

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

character

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.

character

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.

character

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.

character

“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.

portal

A doorway or gate, especially a large and imposing one. Here it refers to the heavy entrance of the prison building.

noun · Chapter 1

Utopia

An imagined perfect society where everything is ideal. Hawthorne uses it to describe the impossible dream of a flawless community that early settlers believed they could build.

noun · Chapter 1

invariably

Always, without exception, every single time. It signals that something happens consistently, no matter the circumstances.

adverb · Chapter 1

allot

To set aside or assign a specific portion of something for a particular purpose, as an official act of distribution.

verb · Chapter 1

fantastic

Elaborately decorative and imaginative in design, with intricate, fanciful patterns. It does not mean wonderful or great here.

adjective · Chapter 2

flourishes

Ornamental curves or decorative strokes added to needlework or writing, purely for visual effect and elegance.

noun · Chapter 2

sphere

A separate, enclosed world or zone of existence. Here it means Hester is cut off from normal human society as if surrounded by an invisible barrier.

noun · Chapter 2

pedestal of shame

The raised scaffold platform where a condemned person stands to be publicly humiliated before the community. Hawthorne uses it to mean the place of public disgrace.

phrase · Chapter 3

enjoin

To formally command or urge someone to do something, with a sense of serious obligation. It is stronger than simply asking.

verb · Chapter 4

feigned

Pretended or faked a feeling one does not actually have. Chillingworth says he never pretended to feel love for Hester.

verb · Chapter 4

passport

Something that gives a person access to places or experiences otherwise closed to them. Here it is used figuratively: the letter grants Hester entry into realms of suffering others cannot enter.

noun · Chapter 5

individuality

The qualities that make a person distinctly themselves, separate from others. Hester fears losing her unique identity by becoming only a public symbol of sin.

noun · Chapter 5

amenable

Willing to comply with rules or authority; open to being guided or controlled. Pearl is described as the opposite — impossible to discipline.

adjective · Chapter 6

ignominy

Public shame and disgrace, especially when imposed as a punishment. The scarlet letter is the physical mark of that humiliation.

noun · Chapter 6

tissues

Rich, finely woven fabrics, often with gold or silver thread. The word refers to luxurious cloth, not the modern paper product.

noun · Chapter 6

breastplate

A large piece of polished armor covering the chest, which acts like a mirror. Hester sees her own distorted reflection in the Governor's decorative armor.

noun · Chapter 7

retribution

Punishment given in return for wrongdoing; a deserved penalty. Pearl is described as both a gift and a form of divine payback for Hester's sin.

noun · Chapter 8

intimacy

A close, deep personal knowledge of another person, involving trust and private access. Here it is used to warn that a doctor gets dangerously close to a patient's hidden secrets.

noun · Chapter 9

leech

An old word for a physician or doctor, used in the seventeenth century. Hawthorne uses it as the chapter title and throughout to refer to Chillingworth in his role as medical practitioner.

noun · Chapter 9

sexton

A church official whose duties include digging graves and maintaining the churchyard. Hawthorne compares Chillingworth's probing of Dimmesdale's soul to a gravedigger searching a corpse.

noun · Chapter 10

ecstasy

An overwhelming rush of intense feeling, here one of dark triumph rather than joy. Chillingworth's ecstasy is the sinister delight of a man who has discovered his enemy's secret.

noun · Chapter 10

comports

Behaves or conducts oneself in a particular manner. The sentence asks how the devil acts when he wins a human soul.

verb · Chapter 10

remorse

Deep, painful guilt over a past wrong one has committed. Dimmesdale is driven by remorse that pursues him constantly like a shadow.

noun · Chapter 11

hieroglyphics

Symbolic signs or pictures used as a form of writing. Here the word describes mysterious shapes seen in the sky, read as divine messages or omens.

noun · Chapter 12

cope

The vast arching vault of the sky, imagined as a great canopy spread overhead. It is an archaic poetic word for the dome of the heavens.

noun · Chapter 12

germ

The earliest seed or beginning of something, the tiny living source from which a feeling or idea can grow. Dimmesdale fears that the capacity for joy has been killed at its very root inside him.

noun · Chapter 13

fiend

A devil or demon; a person of extreme wickedness. Both Hester and Chillingworth use the word to describe what he has become through his obsessive revenge.

noun · Chapter 4