The Scarlet Letter Review Chapters 3-5

1. The Scarlet Letter Review Chapters 3-5

2. Summary—Chapter 3: The Recognition In the crowd that surrounds the scaffold, Hester suddenly spots her husband. Though he is dressed in a strange combination recognizes his slightly deformed shoulders. Hester’s husband gestures to Hester that she should not reveal his identity. He then turns to a stranger in the crowd and asks about Hester’s crime and punishment. Chillingworth remarks that Hester’s husband must have been foolish to think he could keep a young wife happy, and he asks the stranger about the identity of the baby’s father. The stranger tells him that Hester refuses to reveal her fellow sinner. As punishment, she has been sentenced to three hours on the scaffold and a lifetime of wearing the scarlet letter on her chest.

3. Summary—Chapter 4: The Interview Hester and her husband come face to face for the first time when he is called to her prison cell to provide medical assistance. Chillingworth has promised the jailer that he can make Hester more“amenable to just authority,” and he now offers her a cup of medicine. Hester knows his true identity—his gaze makes her shudder—and she initially refuses to drink his potion. She thinks that Chillingworth might be poisoning her, but he assures her that he wants her to live so that he can have his revenge. He urges her to reveal the identity of her lover, telling her that he will surely detect signs of sympathy that will lead him to the guilty party. When she refuses to tell her secret, he makes her promise that she will not reveal to anyone his own identity either. Chillingworth replies that it is not the well-being of her soul that his presence jeopardizes, implying that he plans to seek out her unknown lover. He clearly has revenge on his mind.

4. Summary—Chapter 5: Hester at Her Needle After a few months, Hester is released from prison. Although she is free to leave Boston, she chooses not to do so. She settles in an abandoned cabin at the edge of town. Hester remains alienated from everyone. She serves as a walking example of a fallen woman. Although she is an outcast, Hester remains able to support herself due to her uncommon talent in needlework. In fact, through her work, Hester touches all the major events of life except for marriage—it is deemed inappropriate for chaste brides to wear the product of Hester Prynne’s hands. Despite her success, Hester feels lonely and is constantly aware of her alienation. She devotes part of her time to charity work, but even this is more punishment than solace: those she helps frequently insult her.