Resolved to tell Dimmesdale about the nefarious Roger
Chillingworth, Hester meets the minister in the forest, the setting that emphasizes the
isolation of Hester from society and "the moral wilderness in which she had so long been
wandering." Here, too, in this chapter is the Romantic motif of the sympathy of nature
with the human spirit. For instance, Hawthorne writes that the small
brook
should
whisper tales out of the heart of the old forest whence it flowed, or mirror its
revelations on the smooth surface of a
pool.
Then, too, the sunshine
plays upon Pearl, but when Hester attempts to catch its rays, it disappears, indicating
Hester's isolation.
While they are in the forest and Hester
waits for Dimmesdale, Pearl asks her mother about the Black Man, about whom she has
overheard Mistress Hibbins speak. Hester sends Pearl off as she espies Dimmesdale
approaching. Their meeting after seven years is awkward at first and Dimmesdale
recriminates Hester when she reveals that Chillingworth is her
husband:
"Oh,
Hester Prynne, thou little, little knowest all the horror of this thing! And the
shame!--the indelicacy!--the horrible ugliness of this exposure of a sick and guilty
heart to the very eye that would gloat over it! Woman, woman, thou art accountable for
this! I cannot forgive
thee!"
But Hester insists
that he forgive her; furthermore, she urges the minister to start anew with her. But,
his broken spirit cannot imagine doing so; nevertheless, Hester insists that he do so,
and convinces him.
No comments:
Post a Comment