- whom we left in dear old
England ...sl19.html#g03
- Fairies, wood-dryads, elfs, gods in brooks and trees,
and so on were part of pagan, pre-Christian English religion and
mythology. Hawthorne continues to use both Puritan England and
pagan England as types for attempting to understand New England;
both contributed much to its development and his thinking. For more
on this contrast, see "The May-pole of Merry Mount."
- In her was visible the
tie that united them. ...sl19.html#g04
- The couple are bound not only by the scarlet letter, a symbol
with an obvious and a hidden meaning, but also by the child, who
here is also made into an emblem, a hidden symbol of their secret
adultery. The adultery itself, of course, was not secret, but the
identity of the father was, and Dimmesdale is wondering here how
much Pearl resembles him. We know already that Chillingworth has
noted that Dimmesdale had an amount of passion, perhaps
hereditary, and we wonder if Pearl has got her wildness from him
rather than from, or in addition to, Hester. Pearl brings in the
element of love that Dimmesdale lacks. But Pearl, being a living
person as well as a symbol, has something to say about the
interpretation of her by others. Dimmesdale for her is the
wicked stepfather and she first must test her mother to see if
she can regain control over her. We do not know the origin of her
shrieks, but it does not seem to be from Pentecost. Dimmesdale,
having no experience in child-tending, is all too ready to
attribute her behavior to demons. But Pearl casts a harsh light
on their plans to escape together. Hester has to retreat and try
to handle this another day.
Summary. From here until the end of the book
we expect you to write your own summaries, following the models
of preceding chapters. E-mail to EricEldred@usa.net
your summary (after reading the chapter carefully). You will
get in return e-mail similar summaries made by others, which you
may then compare with your own to see if you have understood
the chapter. Use "Ch. 19 SL Summary" as the Subject:
line.
Suggested MLA citations to this web page,
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Eldred, Eric. <cite>Notes to Ch. 19, The Scarlet
Letter.</cite> <br />
1999. 23 Sep. 1999. <br />
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href="http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/sl19-n.html">http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/sl19-n.html</a>>
(<a
href="http://eldred.ne.mediaone.net/nh/sl19-n.html">Eldred</a>)
Eldred, Eric. Notes to Ch. 19, The Scarlet
Letter. 1999. 23 Sep. 1999.
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