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| Plot Summary of The Scarlet Letter |
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"Hester Prynne is a beautiful young woman living in New England in a puritan community. She has a child, a girl called pearl, but her husband has been absent for some time. She endures jail and humiliation rather than name the father of her child - who would face death were he revealed. When her husband returns, he is determined to hunt down the man who has cuckolded him and sets about taking his revenge. Hester quietly endures and survives, hiding her hopeless love for a man who does not deserve her and who lacks the courage to run off with her and make a new start."
Bryn Pearson, Resident Scholar
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"When she is convicted of having committed adultery, Hester Prynne is forced to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her breast as a mark of shame. Her partner, the Reverend Dimmesdale, unidentified as Hester's lover, goes unpunished by the Puritan society and is little help to Hester in her long and continuous attempt to confront her problem and its consequences, including their daughter Pearl. It is up to Hester to find her own way to forgiveness and redemption."
Gary L. Pullman, Resident Scholar
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"Hester Pryne, a young Puritan woman, is sent to America by her husband, an elderly doctor. The Doctor, under the name Roger Chillingworth, emigrates some time later. Chillingworth is just in time to see Hester released from prison with her infant daughter Pearl. Hester has been incarcerated for adultry and now must wear a scarlet "A". Chillingworth vows to find the lover even though Hester refuses to tell anyone who the father of her child is. Eventually Chillingworth does discover that young Walter Dimmesdale, the singularly spiritual minister of Hester's church, is the father. Chillingworth tortures Hester's caregiver turned lover over a long period of time. Hester finally tells Dimmesdale who Chillingworth is and the lovers think they can escape to the Old World. When Chillingworth learns of their plan, he gains passage on the same ship. "
Paulette Halliday, Resident Scholar
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" This is the story of a young woman who fall in love with a young man in Colonial America. They find each other irresistible and concieve a child out of wedlock. In the Puritan world of early America this is a heinous crime and for this, Hester Prine the central character of the novel, is severely punished. With a battered heart she is forced out of town. In the forest where she now finds herself, she finds great comfort from the beauty that surrounds her and fulfillment in her beautiful young child. The townspeople still want her to answer the question she will not answer, who is the child's father, as he must bear the responsibility and the punishment he deserves. But Hester will not tell. Who is this golden child's daddy? "
Suzanne Phillips, Resident Scholar
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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