1. Characters
1.1. Hester Prynne
1.1.1. A beautiful woman, trapped in the metaphorical cage as a result of her adultery.
1.1.2. Mother of Pearl, wife of Chillingworth, lover of Dimmesdale
1.1.3. She is also a benevolent figure, as evidenced by her compassion for the poor.
1.2. Roger Chillingworth
1.2.1. Husband of Hester, who although promising to come to America soon after Hester, delayed the journey by a significant amount of time.
1.2.2. Solely focused on getting revenge on both Hester and later Dimmesdale
1.3. Arthur Dimmesdale
1.3.1. Lover of Hester, father of Pearl
1.3.2. Primary minister in the city of Boston
1.3.3. Torn apart by the internal conflict of his values and sin.
1.4. Pearl
1.4.1. Daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale
1.4.2. very perceptive child
1.5. Narrator
1.5.1. Writes the entire story based on documents he found in the attic of a building 200 years after the events took place.
2. Plot
2.1. 1.
2.1.1. Hester Prynne and her newborn child named Pearl leave the town prison with a scarlet letter "A" on her chest that is a result of her adultery.
2.2. 2.
2.2.1. Roger Chillingworth, Hester's real husband, arrives in Boston and devises a plan for revenge. Only Hester knows his true identity.
2.3. 3.
2.3.1. Chillingworth becomes closer to Arthur Dimmesdale, the father of Pearl, using his occupation (doctor) as a guise to live with Dimmesdale.
2.4. 4.
2.4.1. Chillingworth discovers a mark on Dimmesdale's chest while he is asleep.
2.5. 5.
2.5.1. Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest and make a plan to leave Boston to go to Europe and live as a regular family.
2.6. 6.
2.6.1. Chillingworth foils the plan and Dimmesdale reveals his sin to the entire town and subsequently dies. Chillingworth dies soon after and Hester continues on in life without both men.
3. Setting
3.1. Boston
3.1.1. Massachusetts Bay Colony
3.1.1.1. Puritan Society
3.1.1.1.1. People needed to follow the rules set by the magistrates, which included abstaining from adultery.
3.2. 1624
3.2.1. The settlers were part of the second wave of immigrants from England.
4. Themes
4.1. Sin
4.1.1. Hester's sin hinders her from acting more "normal" in society. Later, she escapes its entrapment and leads a more regular life.
4.1.2. Dimmesdale's sin also haunts him but it eats away at him until he finally dies.
4.1.3. Sin in Puritan society, particularly adultery, was a subject filled with shame.
4.2. Feminism
4.2.1. Hester consistently makes her own decisions and is also able to support herself and Pearl with her business.
4.2.2. She is a model for single parenting as well.
4.3. Truth and Redemption
4.3.1. When Hester finally confronts her sin for what it is, she is able to find redemption in the truth.
4.3.2. However, when Dimmesdale confronts the truth, it tears him apart.
5. Symbols
5.1. The Scarlet Letter
5.1.1. The scarlet letter's meaning changes throughout the novel.
5.1.2. In the beginning, it represents shame because Hester is looked down on solely because of her scarlet letter.
5.1.3. Later, Hester comes to terms with her scarlet letter and it begins to represents sorrow rather than shame. Some even began to admire it.
5.2. Light/Darkness
5.2.1. Throughout the novel, the lighting in the surroundings of the characters is representative in the overall mood.
5.2.2. For example, when Hester is in the forest, the light avoids her at first. However, after planning her getaway with Dimmesdale and finally accepting herself, the light shines brightly upon her.
5.3. The Black Man
5.3.1. In the beginning of the novel, Hester speaks of the Black Man in referring to Satan and Sin.
5.3.2. Later, it is obviously revealed that Chillingworth is the physical manifestation of the Black Man.
5.4. Pearl
5.4.1. Pearl is a consequence of Hester's sin, similar to the scarlet letter.