XVII. The Pastor and His Parishioner Quiz — The Scarlet Letter

How does Dimmesdale first recognize Hester in the forest?

• He recognizes her voice immediately
• He sees the scarlet letter on her bosom
• Pearl runs out and identifies her mother
• Chillingworth points her out to him

What comparison does Hawthorne use to describe the lovers' reunion?

• Two ships passing in the night
• A prisoner greeting his jailer
• Two spirits meeting in the afterlife
• A patient and doctor in a sickroom

Why does Dimmesdale say he is "most miserable"?

• Because Chillingworth has been poisoning him physically
• Because his congregation has discovered his secret sin
• Because his best qualities have become instruments of spiritual torment through his hypocrisy
• Because Hester has refused to speak to him for seven years

Did Dimmesdale immediately forgive Hester when she revealed Chillingworth's true identity?

What distinction does Dimmesdale draw between penance and penitence?

• Penance is for clergy; penitence is for laypeople
• He has had enough external penance but no true internal penitence
• Penitence is public; penance is private
• He considers both to be equally meaningless

Did Hester reveal Chillingworth's identity voluntarily, or was she forced to do so?

In the sentence "The very contiguity of his enemy...was enough to disturb the magnetic sphere of a being so sensitive," what does "contiguity" mean?

• Hostility or aggression
• Close physical proximity
• Deceptive appearance
• Intellectual superiority

According to Dimmesdale, whose sin is the worst among the three main characters?

• His own, for concealing his adultery
• Hester's, for hiding Chillingworth's identity
• Chillingworth's, for violating the sanctity of a human heart
• All three are equally guilty

Did Dimmesdale eagerly agree to Hester's escape plan right away?

When Hawthorne writes about "the despondency of a broken spirit," what does "despondency" mean?

• Arrogance and pride
• Deep discouragement and loss of hope
• Physical exhaustion
• Sudden fury or rage

What is the significance of Hester pressing Dimmesdale's face against the scarlet letter?

• She is punishing him for his anger
• It transforms the letter from a symbol of shame into an instrument of intimacy and reconciliation
• She is trying to hide it from view
• She wants him to feel her heartbeat

What does Hester mean when she says their love "had a consecration of its own"?

• They were secretly married by a clergyman
• Their relationship was blessed by the Puritan elders
• Their passionate love had a sacred quality that transcended conventional morality
• They had confessed their sin and received absolution

What literary device does Hawthorne primarily use when the forest trees "groaned dolefully to another, as if telling the sad story of the pair"?

• Foreshadowing
• Dramatic irony
• Pathetic fallacy
• Allegory