XIV. Hester and the Physician Quiz — The Scarlet Letter

What is Chillingworth doing when Hester approaches him at the beginning of Chapter XIV?

• Reading in his study
• Gathering medicinal herbs by the seashore
• Attending to Dimmesdale in his chamber
• Walking through the town marketplace

What does Chillingworth tell Hester about the magistrates' recent discussion?

• They plan to banish her from the colony
• They have debated whether the scarlet letter might be removed
• They intend to place Dimmesdale on trial
• They wish to increase her public penance

How does Hester respond to the possibility of the letter's removal?

• She eagerly accepts the offer
• She asks Chillingworth to advocate for her
• She says that if she were worthy, the letter would fall away of its own nature
• She begs the magistrates to reconsider

Chillingworth admits to Hester that he has become a fiend.

According to Hawthorne, what is Chillingworth evidence of?

• The power of medicine to heal the soul
• The Puritan belief in predestination
• Man's faculty of transforming himself into a devil by undertaking a devil's office
• The redemptive power of forgiveness

Dimmesdale is aware that Chillingworth is his enemy throughout this chapter.

What reason does Hester give for breaking her promise of secrecy?

• The magistrates have commanded her to speak
• Pearl has discovered Chillingworth's identity
• She has acted a false part by the only man to whom she could still be true
• Dimmesdale has directly asked her to reveal the secret

What does the word "propinquity" mean as used in this chapter?

• Deep hostility
• Close proximity or nearness
• Spiritual authority
• Moral ambiguity

What does Chillingworth claim would have happened to Dimmesdale without his medical care?

• Dimmesdale would have confessed publicly
• Dimmesdale's life would have burned away in torments within two years
• Dimmesdale would have fled the colony
• Dimmesdale would have been discovered by the magistrates

Chillingworth agrees to forgive Dimmesdale when Hester asks him to.

What does Chillingworth say his revenge on Hester has been?

• Publicly denouncing her before the magistrates
• Leaving her to the scarlet letter
• Turning Pearl against her
• Revealing her secret to the townspeople

What does "commonweal" mean in Chillingworth's reference to the magistrates' discussion?

• Common religious doctrine
• Public good or welfare of the community
• Economic prosperity
• Legal precedent

What philosophy does Chillingworth invoke to avoid taking responsibility?

• Christian redemption through grace
• The Puritan covenant of works
• Dark necessity—that everything since the original sin was fated
• The Enlightenment belief in rational self-improvement

Chillingworth expresses admiration for Hester's character despite their conflict.

What image does Pearl see in the tide pool at the chapter's opening?

• The scarlet letter reflected in the water
• A fish swimming beneath the surface
• A visionary little maid who beckons her into the pool
• Her mother's face looking down from above