X. The Leech and His Patients Practice Quiz — The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: X. The Leech and His Patients
How does Hawthorne describe Chillingworth before his obsession took hold?
Calm in temperament, kindly, a pure and upright man who had begun his investigation with the integrity of a judge.
What two metaphors does Hawthorne use for Chillingworth digging into Dimmesdale's heart?
A miner searching for gold and a sexton delving into a grave in quest of a jewel buried on a dead man's bosom.
What does the light in Chillingworth's eyes resemble?
The reflection of a furnace, burning blue and ominous, compared also to ghastly fire from Bunyan's doorway in the hillside.
Where does Chillingworth say he gathered the dark, flabby-leafed plants?
From an unmarked grave in the nearby graveyard.
What does Chillingworth claim the dark weeds growing from the grave represent?
Some hideous secret that was buried with the dead man, which he had done better to confess during his lifetime.
What reason does Dimmesdale give for why guilty men might keep their sins hidden?
They retain a zeal for God's glory and man's welfare and fear that public exposure would destroy their capacity to do good.
How does Dimmesdale describe secret sinners who appear pure outwardly?
They "go about among their fellow-creatures, looking pure as new-fallen snow, while their hearts are all speckled and spotted with iniquity."
What is Chillingworth's counter-argument about men who hide their sins?
He says "such men deceive themselves" and that a false show of purity can never be better than God's own truth.
What does Pearl do when she sees Dimmesdale at the window?
She throws a prickly burr at him, then claps her hands in ecstasy when he flinches.
What does Pearl arrange along the scarlet letter on Hester's bosom?
Prickly burrs from a tall burdock plant, which she arranged along the lines of the letter A.
What does Pearl shout about Chillingworth as she pulls Hester away?
"Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old Black Man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already."
What is the "Black Man" a Puritan reference to?
The Devil. Pearl's calling Chillingworth the "Black Man" identifies him as a diabolical figure.
What does Chillingworth argue is the relationship between bodily disease and the soul?
That a bodily disease may be a symptom of an ailment in the spiritual part, and the body cannot be healed without revealing the wound in the soul.
How does Dimmesdale react when Chillingworth presses him about his soul's disease?
He cries "No!—not to thee!—not to an earthly physician!" and rushes out of the room with a frantic gesture.
What does Chillingworth say to himself after Dimmesdale's outburst?
"There is nothing lost. We shall be friends again anon. But see, now, how passion takes hold upon this man... He hath done a wild thing ere now, this pious Master Dimmesdale."
What does Dimmesdale do after his outburst at Chillingworth?
He feels remorseful about his unseemly outbreak, apologizes, and asks Chillingworth to continue his medical care.
What expression does Chillingworth wear after each professional visit with Dimmesdale?
A mysterious and puzzled smile, invisible in the minister's presence but strongly evident as the physician crosses the threshold.
What is unusual about Dimmesdale's sleep when Chillingworth examines his chest?
He falls into an unusually deep slumber at noonday, remarkable because he ordinarily sleeps as lightly as a small bird hopping on a twig.
What does Chillingworth do while Dimmesdale sleeps?
He advances to the minister, lays his hand upon his bosom, and thrusts aside the vestment that had always covered it.
How does Hawthorne describe Chillingworth's reaction to what he sees on Dimmesdale's chest?
With "a wild look of wonder, joy, and horror" and "ghastly rapture," throwing up his arms and stamping his foot, compared to Satan claiming a soul.
What distinguishes Chillingworth's ecstasy from Satan's, according to Hawthorne?
The trait of wonder in it—suggesting that even Chillingworth was surprised by what he found.
What does Dimmesdale believe about Hester's public punishment versus hidden suffering?
He believes it is better for a sufferer to be free to show pain openly, as Hester does, than to cover it all up in the heart.
What double meaning does the word "leech" carry in the chapter title?
It was an archaic word for physician (Chillingworth's role) but also refers to a blood-sucking parasite (his true function).
What image does Hawthorne use for Chillingworth creeping through Dimmesdale's consciousness?
A thief entering a chamber where a man lies only half asleep, with purpose to steal the treasure the man guards as the apple of his eye.
Whose tombstone does Pearl dance upon in the graveyard?
A broad, flat armorial tombstone of a departed worthy—possibly Isaac Johnson himself.