XIV. Hester and the Physician Practice Quiz — The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: XIV. Hester and the Physician
Where does Hester send Pearl at the beginning of Chapter XIV?
To the margin of the water to play with shells and tangled seaweed while Hester speaks with Chillingworth.
What does Pearl see when she peers into a tide pool?
A reflection of herself, described as a visionary little maid with dark glistening curls and an elf-smile, who beckons her to come into the pool.
What good news does Chillingworth claim to share with Hester?
That the magistrates have debated whether the scarlet letter might be removed from her bosom.
How does Hester respond to the possibility of the letter being removed?
She says it lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates; if she were worthy, it would fall away of its own nature or be transformed into something with a different meaning.
How has Chillingworth's appearance changed over seven years?
His calm, intellectual demeanor has been replaced by an eager, searching, almost fierce look, with a glare of red light in his eyes as if his soul were smouldering with fire.
What metaphor does Hawthorne use to describe Chillingworth's transformation?
He calls Chillingworth "a striking evidence of man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil, if he will only, for a reasonable space of time, undertake a devil's office."
What accusation does Hester level against Chillingworth regarding Dimmesdale?
She accuses him of treading behind Dimmesdale's every footstep, searching his thoughts, burrowing and rankling in his heart, and causing him to die daily a living death.
How does Chillingworth justify his treatment of Dimmesdale?
He claims that without his medical care, Dimmesdale's life would have burned away in torments within two years, and that the minister now breathes and lives owing entirely to him.
What does Chillingworth admit about his former self?
He recalls that he was once earnest, studious, thoughtful, quiet, kind, true, just, and of constant affections, devoted to increasing knowledge and advancing human welfare.
What question does Chillingworth pose after describing his former self?
"And what am I now? A fiend! Who made me so?"
How does Hester respond when Chillingworth asks who made him a fiend?
She claims responsibility, saying "It was myself! It was I, not less than he," and asks why he has not avenged himself on her.
What does Chillingworth say is his revenge on Hester?
"I have left thee to the scarlet letter. If that have not avenged me, I can do no more."
What secret does Hester announce she will reveal?
She tells Chillingworth she must reveal his true identity to Dimmesdale, who must "discern thee in thy true character."
What has the scarlet letter disciplined Hester to embrace?
Truth, described as "the truth of red-hot iron, entering into the soul."
What does Hester urge Chillingworth to do instead of seeking revenge?
She urges him to forgive and leave Dimmesdale's further retribution to the Power that claims it, calling forgiveness a "priceless benefit" available only to the wronged.
What is Chillingworth's response to Hester's plea for forgiveness?
He says it is not granted to him to pardon and that he has no such power, declaring the entire situation a "dark necessity" set in motion by the original sin.
What does Chillingworth mean by "Let the black flower blossom as it may"?
He means that the evil consequences of the original sin will unfold inevitably, and he will neither resist nor redirect them. It signals his refusal to forgive.
What emotion does Chillingworth unexpectedly express toward Hester?
Admiration and pity. He says she had "great elements" and that a better love than his might have prevented the evil, and that her good nature has been wasted.
What moment of self-recognition does Chillingworth experience?
He lifts his hands with a look of horror, as if beholding a frightful shape usurping the place of his own image in a glass, one of those rare moments when a man's moral aspect is faithfully revealed.
What promise did Hester make to Chillingworth seven years earlier?
She promised to keep his true identity secret, concealing that he was her husband and not revealing his former relation to her.
What recurring fire imagery appears in this chapter?
Chillingworth's soul is described as on fire, smouldering duskily and blown into momentary flame. The "lurid fire" of his heart blazes out, and Hester speaks of truth as "red-hot iron entering into the soul."
What is the setting of the confrontation between Hester and Chillingworth?
The seashore, a liminal space between land and water, where Chillingworth has been gathering medicinal herbs.
How does Dimmesdale perceive Chillingworth's influence without knowing his identity?
With superstitious dread, fancying himself given over to a fiend to be tortured with frightful dreams, desperate thoughts, remorse, and despair of pardon.