Red character

Author: Hawthorne
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The Scarlet Letter tells a tragic love story set in the North American colonial period. The protagonist, Hester Prynne, marries the physician Roger Chillingworth, but there is no love between them. In solitude, Prynne falls in love with the minister Arthur Dimmesdale and gives birth to their daughter Pearl. Prynne is publicly punished and forced to wear a red letter "A" as a mark of adultery. However, Prynne remains steadfast and refuses to reveal the father of her child. Prynne's husband travels from England to North America and witnesses the scene of her punishment, then decides to find the child's father and take revenge. At the time, Dimmesdale is deeply beloved by the locals for his excellent work, yet he gradually declines in health under the crushing weight of his conscience. The people arrange for Chillingworth to live with the minister to treat his illness. Prynne, feeling guilty toward her husband, agrees to Chillingworth's request not to reveal their legal marriage. Thus, a brutal act of revenge begins. In the end, Dimmesdale cannot bear the torment of his conscience and publicly confesses his sin, dying in Prynne's arms. Chillingworth, however, becomes a slave to the devil and becomes a true sinner.