Chapters 16-19 The Incredible A

In the chapters leading up to chapters 16-19, they have been about Hester and how she has changed in society. For example, how people believe she is marked by a letter of "able" now instead of adulterer. For seven years she has kept the secret identity of Chillingworth and Dimmesdale which personally I thought she would never give out. After reading these chapters, I found them to be interesting and plot twisting. Having Hester physically go into the woods and meet Dimmesdale on his way back from meeting with the Indians puts an urgency on their meeting. This built up suspense as I read. As Hester and Pearl were on their way, I was thinking about how Dimmesdale would react to this news. Also bringing Pearl along was no surprise since Hester takes her everywhere, but I kept wondering how Pearl would feel if she heard the news of Chillingworth and also the news about Dimmesdale being her father. Once Hester told the secret of her husband to Dimmesdale, I became upset with him for yelling at Hester and blaming his suffering on her. This annoyed me because I personally would have liked the scene better if Dimmesdale would have made the connection to why the physician was torturing him but then be compassionate towards Hester about their trouble. I was surprised when, in the woods, Dimmesdale contemplates about, "... between fleeing as an avowed criminal, and remaining a hypocrite, conscience might find it hard to strike the balance; that it was human to avoid the peril of death and infamy, and the inscrutable machinations of an enemy; that finally, to this poor pilgram on his dreary desert path, faint, sick, miserable, there appeared a glimpse of human affection  and sympathy, a new life... (181)." Speaking of travelling back to England where they can create a new life for themselves and Pearl doesn't seem easily attainable for them. This scene made me enjoy these chapters because of the hope they both had. They knew what they had done was a horrible sin but yet they want to be together again and change the direction of their lives. I feel indifferent because knowing Dimmesdale's high rank in society, it doesn't seem plausible for the two lovers and Pearl to run away together back to Europe as much as I would want them to. Also, after Hester takes off the scarlet letter she feels a deep guilt when seeing it on the ground. From the beginning she believed since Boston was where her sin occurred, that is where her punishment must take place. This guilt shows how Hester doesn't think her punishment has done its job yet. 

After reading chapter 19, it illustrated to me how devious Pearl actually is. After her mother took off the scarlet letter, she refused to come when she called her over. Only after Hester put the letter back on she obeyed her mother. Then she kissed the scarlet letter almost to mock her mother. This makes Hester angry with the child then Pearl is sent into contortions resembling an exorcism described in the passage, "But Pearl not a whit startled at her mother's threats any more than mollified by her entreaties, now suddenly burst into a fit of passion gesticulating violently and throwing her small body into the most extravagant contortions. She accompanied this wild outbreak with piercing shreiks, which the woods reverberated on all sides; so that, alone as she was in her childish and unreasonable wrath, it seemed as if a hidden multitude were lending her their sympathy and encouragement (189)." This frightens Dimmesdale telling Hester not to let Mistress Hibbins, the witch, know of these demonic outbursts. Seeing this occur must have been unique and frightening for him leading Hester to tell him more about her impish child. Ever since the beginning of the book, Pearl has acted demonic before but we have never seen Pearl have contortions as this which brought me to believe the devil inside of Pearl is erupting. I believe this is because she is in close proximity to Dimmesdale. I think Hawthorne is foreshadowing Pearl's resemblance to a devil in this scene and ensuing that she will turn evil in the near future. I reacted this way to this scene because of the secrets that Hester has told Dimmesdale and how these secrets may lead to their downfall if the society knew the truth. Also the demonic character of Chillingworth can connect to Pearl in a way since they both have evil inside of them. 

My gossamer thread connects Pearl to the baby in the movie, "The Incredibles," Jack-Jack. In the movie the Incredibles, the Incredibles are a family of super heroes trying to blend in with society after their days of fighting crime are over, or so it seems. They have to work hard at keeping the secret of their true identity from the world which isn't easy for the family. When called on an unexpected mission, the parents have a babysitter watch their baby. Unknowingly the baby has very strange powers; he can put himself on fire, teleport through his house, float through the air, and shoot laser beams out of his eyes. Having these wacky powers makes Jack-Jack different from other babies. Pearl was not born from super hero parents but has some sort of mystical power that makes her different from the other children in her society. When Hester finds out her child acts demonically she at first is scared and worries about her future. Then in chapter 19 when watching her child have contortions, she has become accustomed to her impish child. Jack-Jack surprises his babysitter with his newly received powers which frightens her causing her to try and call the parents. After the night of blowing out his flames with a fire extinguisher and redirecting the laser beams from his eyes, she becomes used to his strange tendencies just as Hester did. Also, Jack-Jack's mother has the same problem that Hester encounters in these later chapters with keeping the secret of her child's identity. Having a child with mystical powers can lead to societies outing that child for being different and harmful.  This scares both of these mothers because each of them have been shamed by their society. Mrs. Incredible was shamed after super heroes failed to come out on top and were not necessary anymore which caused her to hide her true identity. Hester was shamed for having a child with someone who wasn't her husband. Each child and mother have similarities in their lifestyles of keeping secrets and taming strange, mystical behavior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dQpFu8uRP0