3rd blog for The Scarlet Letter
I am two thirds into The Scarlet Letter and it becomes more and more interesting as I read on. All the secrets that Hester Prynne had hidden for seven years are beginning to be discovered by the reader. Also, the reader gets to know Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth a lot better and what their secrets are. Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister, is suffering because of what he did seven years ago and Roger Chillingworth, the physician, does not let him forget it. Roger Chillingworth, Hester Prynne’s ex husband, wants revenge so he is making Arthur suffer as much as possible. Hester found Roger’s plan out and told Arthur, but by now, Arthur is weak and blames himself for what other people see him as and what he really is. Since he is a minister, the people revere him, but his soul is black for the sin he has committed. “I have laughed, in bitterness and agony of heart, at the contrast between what I seem and what I am! And Satan laughs at it!” (197). Hester blames herself for the misery that has befallen Arthur so they plan on escaping from this cruel town where they suffer so much for their sins. I am very interested in knowing if they will leave together or if they are just going to stay in this town and continue their misery.
October 30th, 2006 at 12:05 am
[…] Just a little over two thirds of the way through The Scarlet Letter, and there are many things still developing, which make me really like this book. To start off from where my last post ends, the relationship between two characters, a minister and a doctor, illuminate topics that relate back to the main character, Hester. This is so interesting, and such an intricate skill that Nathaniel Hawthorn possesses. The minister of whom I speak is Dimmesdale, and he is beginning to touch upon some of the issues that we studied in class relating to sin and the religious and moral beliefs, which relate back to evil. Such connections are truly intriguing to me, and are one aspect of this book that keep me hooked on it. Things are beginning to change for Hester, and although she is still ridiculed and shunned in society, she is begging to become ever so slightly accepted back into the society over time. However, the most important thing that I am noticing about this book are the secrets being revealed to the reader. A period of seven years has past, and the book is exposing the secrets of the characters, mainly things that happened to them those seven years ago. It is very interesting to see what will happen, and the storyline keeps unfolding in unexpected ways, yet somehow in a predictable manner. Reggy has pretty much summed up the plot line as of now, and I am interested just as much as she is to see what is going to happen next! […]
November 1st, 2006 at 6:06 pm
I found it very interesting while reading that after seven years the truth about both Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale is begining to come out. I felt horrible for Arthur at this point, because I think that he is truly the better guy; Dimmesdale is the one that should be worrying about what others think of him, or the kind of guy he is. Chillingworth is the evil in this book, and he uses his evil to try to get Dimmesdale to think that he is evil, and possibly deserves to die. And Hester, she should not be blaming herself for what Dimmesdale has undergone. The only person to blame for their misery is Arthur Chillingworth.