The Scarlet Letter Chapters 9 - 12
Chillingworth has hidden his identity after moving to Salem, except for Hester, who swore she would keep it a secret. He takes the doctor role for more value as the town lacks medical facilities. The people referred to him as a 'leech' as it was the common epithet used for physicians of that time. Chillingworth and Dimmesdale became good friends. Dimmesdale's health starts to decline, and the townspeople think it is God's will that Chillingworth is in their town to cure Dimmesdale. Since Dimmesdale is single, Chillingworth takes lodgings with him so that he can cure him.
They take lodgings in a widow's home, where they contemplate sin and death. Dimmesdale's room is decorated with tapestries of biblical scenes of adultery, while Chillingworth's room has a time-sophisticated laboratory. The rumors spread with time concerning the history of Chillingworth. People considered his behavior to be strange and believed that he practiced witchcraft.
The Minister soon becomes a mystery for Chillingworth and tries hard to find the root cause of his patient's situation. Chillingworth is consumed by his desire for revenge and his obsession with knowing the truth. He is willing to do anything to get what he wants. He delves deeper into Dimmesdale's mind to find something private, but Dimmesdale confides in no one as he has grown suspicious of all men. Chillingworth devotes most of his time to his patient and is busy gathering herbs for him. One day, Dimmesdale asks Chillingworth about a sinister-looking plant. Chillingworth tells him that he found it on an unnamed grave and the dark weeds signify the unconfessed sin of the buried person.
As they talk, they hear a cry from outside. Hester and Pearl pass by them, and Pearl makes a whirring sound at Dimmesdale. Chillingworth praises Hester by saying that Hester doesn't live with buried sin; she wears it on her breast. Dimmesdale becomes careful when Chillingworth tries to manipulate him to get the hidden secret out of him. He leaves the room in agitation, remarking that this should be left to God, which arouses Chillingworth's suspicion. They both reconcile, and one day, Chillingworth sneaks into Dimmesdale's room. He pushes aside his shirt, rejoices, and gets horrified at what he sees on his chest.
After discovering Dimmesdale's secret, Chillingworth uses his friendship to provoke the Minister with his stray remarks. The Minister loathes his doctor but dismisses him and suffers as he has no rational explanation. The sufferings of Dimmesdale inspire him to deliver sermons on sin. This aggravates his inner dissatisfaction, and he repeatedly confesses his sins in front of parishioners. As a result, he goes on fasting and prays night long, but every effort fails to bring relief. He starts getting visions, and in one of the visions, he sees Hester Prynne and Pearl wearing the scarlet dress. Hester points her forefinger at the scarlet letter on her bosom and then at the breast of the clergyman. Even the Bible doesn't offer any support for such delusions. Unable to shred the guilt that his sin has brought him, he considers the whole universe false.
Dimmesdale resorts to torturing himself physically with fasting and whips as well. He thinks of holding a vigil on the scaffold, which Hester shamed years ago, as a remedy for his pain. Dimmesdale walks towards the scaffold and mounts on it. He screams aloud to be discovered due to the pain in his chest, or his penance will go meaningless. But no one turns up as people call his voice a witches' cry. Absurd thoughts storm his mind while he is on the scaffold, and laughs when he sights Reverend Wilson, who is returning from the deathbed of Governor Winthrop. He doesn't take notice of Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale imagines what would happen if the townspeople witnessed their Minister standing in a place of shame.
Dimmesdale's hysterical laugh attracts the laugh of Pearl. Hester and Pearl were also returning from the same Governor's deathbed. Hester was asked to make the Governor's burial robe. Dimmesdale calls both of them up on the scaffold. When the little girl asks him if he'll stand with them on the platform the next day, the government denies it but promises to do this on judgment day.
A meteor strikes, brightening the dark sky and illuminating the surrounding. He witnesses the letter 'A' marked in the sky with dull red lights. Pearl points toward Chillingworth, standing like a devil in the street. Dimmesdale is terrified by his look and asks Hester who Chillingworth is actually. Pearl responds that she knows and talks gibberish in his ears. She scolds him for being a coward and a hypocrite as he refuses to stand on the scaffold with them. Chillingworth approaches and exclaims that he, too, was on the deathbed of the Governor. He takes Dimmesdale to return home with him.
The next day, Minister delivers the most powerful sermon of his life. The Sexton gives him a black glove dropped on the scaffold. He further tells Dimmesdale that there have been reports of a meteor being sighted in the sky and the appearance of the letter' A,' which people think stands for 'Angel' as a tribute to late Governor Winthrop.
Analysis
The society in the novel wishes to enforce a union of the public perception of an individual and the person’s inner life, as exemplified through the Scarlet letter on Hester’s Bosom. The reader doesn’t assuredly learn about the identity of Pearl’s father until Hester meets with him in the forest, but it is heavily foreshadowed that Dimmesdale is the father. For instance, Chillingworth’s conversation with the young priest indicates that he is keeping a secret that is gnawing his insides. In this way, a clear parallel is created between Dimmesdale and Hester. She wears the mark of her sin openly and continues to perform such deeds that the very meaning of the letter begins to morph to resemble something good. On the other hand, Dimmesdale’s fame as a clergyman grows as he continues to serve the community selflessly, but rather than giving him solace, this image of a benevolent priest tortures him as he feels that he is misleading the people by keeping his secret.
Dimmesdale is overcome with grief one night, and he climbs the scaffold where sinners are exposed to the public gaze. He happens to encounter Hester, and he invites her onto the scaffold along with Pearl. This act of penitence is disingenuous and Pearl reveals it as such when she asks him if he would join them on the scaffold in the light of day. Interestingly, Hester and Dimmesdale view Chillingworth when they ascend the scaffold, and Dimmesdale finally begins to realize that he wishes him harm.
