Chapters thirteen through fifteen reveal a lot of new information, particularly regarding Hester and Chillingworth. Both of these characters have undergone changes. Hester is now more accepted by the community and is treated more as an involved member of society than an outcast. However, over the past seven years her personality has changed and she has lost her passion in order to cope with the stress of being looked down upon for her sin. Hester is also less concerned with Chillingworth and keeping his secret now. Chillingworth has also changed, specifically physically. He appears more devil-like and constantly has a fierce, yet guarded, look in his eyes. These chapters were interesting to me because of Hester’s transformation in particular. Hester seems to no longer be completely characterized by her scarlet letter and her sin. She has moved on as much as she can while still wearing the letter. People in the town do not think of her as just an adulterer anymore. This is drastically different from how she was looked at during the beginning of the novel when she was completely judged and noticed for the A she wears. These changes in Hester allow her to gather the courage to finally confront Chillingworth and make the decision to soon tell Dimmesdale the truth about her husband. I found this character development to be very interesting and necessary for Hester and I hope that this will allow many of the secrets to finally be revealed.
Chapter thirteen reveals a transformation in Hester after seven years of living with the A embroidered on her shirt. The weight of living with this shame has taken a toll on her and changed her outlook and demeanor. She is no longer full of passion and life. Hester has cut off her hair, representing her loss of freedom and inability to live her life in the way that she did before. Her outward change in appearance is indicative of the inner changes she has made. These changes were necessary for her personal well-being and survival. This is explained in chapter thirteen, “Such is frequently the fate, and such the stern development, of the feminine character and person, when the woman has encountered and lived through, and experience of peculiar severity. If she be all tenderness, she will die. If she survive, the tenderness will either be crushed out of her, or--and the outward semblance is the same--crushed so deeply into her heart that it can never show itself more.” (Hawthorne 148). This passage illustrates Hester’s need to lose some of her tenderness in order to survive. If she had continued to act out of love and passion, she would have been extremely emotionally affected by the judgment the townspeople bestowed upon her. Over a long period of time, this would have been taxing and she would not have succeeded in the ways that she has, despite feeling shame. Hester is forced to embody a persona that is characterized by coldness instead of tenderness. This illustrates how the presence of shame can be detrimental to the individual and also how Hester is persistent in trying to survive in the best way she knows how, regardless of the circumstances. This also shows that people are not necessarily completely defined by one action or event, even in a society as strict as the puritans.
Alongside Hester’s change, Chillingworth also appears very different seven years after Hester’s initial punishment. Chillingworth is seen as somewhat dark and devil-like throughout the book but now his appearance has changed to mimic that image. As seen in chapter fourteen, “But the former aspect of an intellectual and studious man, calm and quiet, which was what she best remembered in him, had altogether vanished, and had been succeeded by an eager, searching, almost fierce, yet casually guarded look.” (Hawthorne 153). This passage depicts an obvious change is Chillingworth’s appearance and demeanor. He now seems even more sinister and Hawthorn later describes him as “undertaking a devil’s office” (153). This is important because it reveals Chillingworth’s character more and illustrates his possible intended role overall. He has acted devil-like throughout the novel when he is searching for the father of Hester’s baby and threatening to get revenge. This scene and image is also foreshadowing for later trouble Chillingworth will cause Hester and Dimmesdale because this depiction of Chillingworth is given right before Hester talks to him and realizes that he knows that Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father. This could be problematic for Dimmesdale if Chillingworth chooses to reveal this information, and given the previous description, it leads one to believe that he will. Chillingworth’s appearance also causes Hester to feel somewhat guilty for what she has done because she believes that she caused Chillingworth to lose his heart and become evil. This could also lead to Hester making certain choices in the future and demonstrates that even though she has moved past a lot of the shame, she still has some guilt for her sin.
These chapters outline the idea of a person gradually being forgiven and accepted back into society after committing a crime or sin of some sort. This happens regularly in everyday society, particularly in cases involving sports stars or politicians. However, for my gossamer thread I thought of Paula Deen and how she made racial slurs a few years ago. She was caught using racist language and her show was eventually taken away because of this event. After a few years though, many people do not remember this and still enjoy watching her show. She also has been on TV recently and may have a new show soon. This is one example of scandal eventually fading away and a person being slowly accepted into society again. However, like Hester’s scarlet letter, many people remember Paula Deen’s scandal and look at her differently because of it, even over time.
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