The Scarlet Letter Chapters 13 - 16
The present condition of Dimmesdale shocks Hester, who later speaks to Chillingworth about how the Minister is treated. Pearl is now seven years old, and Hester has become more active in society. She helps the poor and nurses the sick. She is still scorned, but people have begun to believe that the 'A' on her chest stands for 'Able,' not 'adulterer.' Hester herself has evolved from a tender and passionate woman to a harsh self of her. When alone, Hester ponders the laws and norms governing human society. Hester worries about what sort of a woman Pearl will become and about keeping Chillingworth's identity a secret from Dimmesdale.
Hester thinks of talking to Chillingworth to stop torturing the Minister. She comes across Chillingworth collecting plants while walking on a beach. Hester sends Pearl to play, and Chillingworth tells her that he has requested the officials allow her to get rid of the scarlet letter which she thinks isn't in the hands of human authority to do so. Divinity will make it fall off her chest when the time comes. Hester wonders about the changed behavior of Chillingworth over the years. She further informs him that it is time for the Minister to know the true identity of Chillingworth. Chillingworth adds that Dimmesdale wouldn't have survived till now if he didn't take care of him. Although, death would have been more of a comfort to him than the situation he is in now. Chillingworth pities Hester, and Hester pities him for what he has become, claiming that fate leads him to where he should be. A particular change is visible on Chillingworth's face, and the doctor has transformed himself into something sinister. He realizes his mental deformity and recalls the days when he was a fantastic scholar. He has degraded from a human being to a vengeful poor person with no human heart. Hester takes the blame for his transformation and asks him to be a good human again.
Chillingworth leaves, and Hester searches for Pearl. Meanwhile, she thinks about how she could have ended happily with Chillingworth. The happiness would have deluded her into believing something far from absolute. She would have considered it fancy living happily by her husband's side. Pearl is playing at the water's edge and constructs a letter 'A' on her chest out of seaweed. Hester asks Pearl if she understands the meaning of the initial and then discusses it. Pearl points out that Dimmesdale clutches his hand over his heart, and the letter has some connection. Hester is shocked at her daughter's perception but realizes that Pearl is too young to know the truth and significance of the letter. Pearl is still curious and keeps asking her mother about the fact for several days.
Hester wants to speak privately with Dimmesdale. So, she plans to meet him in the forest he will be passing by while returning from the Native American settlement. Hester takes Pearl along, who is trying to catch the sun's rays. As they wait for Dimmesdale, Pearl wishes to hear a story about the black man from Hester. She overheard a woman saying that the black man roams in the forest with a book and gives an iron pen to anyone he meets among the trees. People must write their names with blood, and then the black man sets his mark on their bosoms, just like Hester's. Hester denies visiting the forest but agrees that the scarlet letter is his mark.
Hester and Pearl sit near a stream that sounds sad to Pearl. The brook has its grief. They hear footsteps, and when Pearl sees a figure emerging from the wood, she assumes him to be a 'black man.' Hester needed privacy, so she tried to send Pearl away. But Pearl doesn't leave until she believes that the figure is Dimmesdale's. She wonders whether Dimmesdale will clutch his heart as the black man left a mark there, also.
Analysis
Hester’s ostracisation from society begins to change her outlook on the law and the morals that are enforced on the citizens by the authorities. She begins to realize that the laws that led to her punishment were fundamentally unjust. This is not merely because Hester is separated from society because of the symbol she is forced to wear, but because she begins to experience a strange sense of empathy with the other sinners in society, even if they are not marked out by a symbol. She begins to realize that she was not truly sinful in her actions, as she had never truly loved her husband, and that she hadn’t heard from her husband for a long time before she was in the arms of another man. Hester feels that society is enforcing a double standard that views and treats men and women vastly differently. She realizes that she has fewer rights in the view of society because of her gender and that she is viewed more as a piece of property than a human.
