XIII. Another View of Hester Practice Quiz — The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: XIII. Another View of Hester
How old is Pearl in Chapter 13?
Pearl is seven years old.
What new meaning do some townspeople assign to the scarlet letter A?
They say it stands for Able, reflecting Hester's strength and helpfulness.
What charitable acts does Hester perform for the community?
She feeds the poor, nurses the sick, and comforts the dying and afflicted in times of calamity.
What does the narrator compare the scarlet letter to on a nun?
The cross on a nun's bosom, suggesting it now imparts a kind of sacredness to the wearer.
What legend circulates about an Indian and the scarlet letter?
An Indian reportedly drew his arrow against the badge, and the missile struck it and fell harmlessly to the ground.
How has Hester's physical appearance changed?
Her luxuriant hair is hidden beneath a cap, her beauty has faded to marble coldness, and she appears majestic but statue-like.
What metaphor does Hawthorne use to describe the effect of punishment on Hester's character?
He says the "light and graceful foliage of her character had been withered up by this red-hot brand," leaving a bare and harsh outline.
What has Hester's mental life shifted from and to?
Her life has turned from passion and feeling to thought and intellectual speculation.
To which historical figure does Hawthorne compare Hester?
Anne Hutchinson, the antinomian who was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony for challenging Puritan authority.
What prevented Hester from becoming a religious revolutionary like Anne Hutchinson?
The responsibility of raising Pearl channeled her radical energy into motherhood rather than public dissent.
What does Hawthorne say the Puritans would consider a "deadlier crime" than adultery?
Hester's freedom of speculation and radical intellectual ideas, which she entertains privately in her cottage.
What is the meaning of "The scarlet letter had not done its office"?
The punishment has failed its intended purpose of bringing Hester to genuine repentance; instead it has radicalized her thinking.
What dark thought does Hester entertain regarding Pearl?
She wonders whether it would be better to send Pearl to heaven at once and face divine judgment herself.
What three reforms does Hester believe must happen before women can assume a fair position?
Society must be torn down and rebuilt, the nature of men must be modified, and women must undergo a transformation so profound their essence may evaporate.
Why does Hester feel responsible for Dimmesdale's suffering?
She kept Chillingworth's true identity secret, allowing him to pose as Dimmesdale's friend and physician while secretly tormenting him.
What condition has Dimmesdale been reduced to?
His nerve is destroyed, his moral force is abased into childish weakness, and he stands on the verge of lunacy.
How has the power dynamic between Hester and Chillingworth shifted?
Hester has been strengthened by years of endurance, while Chillingworth has degraded himself through revenge, bringing himself to her level or below it.
What does Hester resolve to do at the end of Chapter 13?
She resolves to meet her former husband Chillingworth and attempt to rescue Dimmesdale from his destructive influence.
How does the public's behavior function as dramatic irony in this chapter?
The community believes the scarlet letter has reformed Hester, but the narrator reveals it has instead driven her toward radical, subversive thinking.
What is Hester described as being "self-ordained" to become?
A Sister of Mercy, though Hawthorne notes it was the world's heavy hand that ordained her when neither she nor the world intended it.
What metaphor describes Hester's intellectual wandering?
She wanders "without a clew in the dark labyrinth of mind," encountering insurmountable precipices and deep chasms.
What is the "iron link" that connects Hester to Dimmesdale?
The iron link of mutual crime, which neither can break and which brings with it obligations to one another.
How do the rulers and learned men differ from ordinary people in accepting Hester?
They are slower to acknowledge Hester's good qualities because their prejudices are fortified by an iron framework of reasoning that makes them harder to shed.
Where is Chillingworth when Hester spots him at the end of the chapter?
He is walking in a retired part of the peninsula, stooping along the ground gathering roots and herbs for his medicines.