XVIII. A Flood of Sunshine Practice Quiz — The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: XVIII. A Flood of Sunshine
What emotion does Dimmesdale show when Hester proposes they flee together?
A mixture of hope and joy, with fear between them and a kind of horror at her boldness for speaking what he only dared to hint at.
How has Hester's seven years of exile changed her intellectually?
She has developed radical independence of thought, viewing Puritan institutions with detached criticism and wandering freely through a "moral wilderness" of speculation.
What does Hawthorne call the scarlet letter in relation to Hester's freedom?
Her "passport into regions where other women dared not tread."
Who were Hester's "teachers" during her years of punishment?
Shame, Despair, and Solitude—Hawthorne says they "had made her strong, but taught her much amiss."
How does Hawthorne characterize Dimmesdale's original sin with Hester?
As "a sin of passion, not of principle, nor even purpose"—meaning it was impulsive rather than ideological.
What metaphor does Hawthorne use for guilt's permanent damage to the soul?
A breached citadel wall: once guilt breaks through, the wall can be guarded but never fully repaired, and the enemy maintains its stealthy tread nearby.
What reasoning does Dimmesdale use to justify fleeing?
He cannot recall a single moment of peace in seven years, considers himself irrevocably doomed, and decides to seize whatever solace remains before his spiritual execution.
What does Dimmesdale call Hester after deciding to flee?
His "better angel," saying he feels he has "risen up all made anew" with new powers to glorify God.
What does Hester physically do with the scarlet letter?
She unfastens the clasp, takes it from her bosom, and throws it to a distance among the withered leaves near the brook.
Where does the scarlet letter land after Hester throws it?
On the near edge of the stream—a hand's breadth farther and it would have fallen into the water.
How does the narrator describe the discarded scarlet letter?
As "glittering like a lost jewel, which some ill-fated wanderer might pick up, and thenceforth be haunted by strange phantoms of guilt."
What physical transformation occurs in Hester after she removes the letter?
Her dark, rich hair falls freely over her shoulders, a crimson flush returns to her pale cheeks, her beauty and youth come back, and a radiant smile beams from her eyes.
What happens in nature immediately after Hester removes the scarlet letter?
Sunshine bursts forth suddenly, flooding the forest with light, turning yellow leaves to gold, and making the brook gleam with joy.
What literary device is the simultaneous sunshine and emotional joy?
Pathetic fallacy—the natural world mirrors the characters' inner emotional state.
How does Hawthorne qualify nature's sympathetic response to Hester's joy?
He calls it "wild, heathen Nature of the forest, never subjugated by human law, nor illumined by higher truth," suggesting nature's endorsement exists outside moral authority.
Why is Dimmesdale anxious about meeting Pearl?
He says children often show distrust and a backwardness to be familiar with him, and he admits he has "even been afraid of little Pearl."
How does the forest treat Pearl while her parents talk?
It becomes her playmate—offering partridge-berries, while a partridge, pigeon, squirrel, fox, and even a wolf approach her without fear.
What do the forest animals recognize in Pearl?
A "kindred wildness in the human child"—she belongs to the natural world rather than Puritan civilization.
How does Pearl decorate herself in the forest?
With violets, anemones, columbines, and fresh green twigs, transforming herself into what Hawthorne calls "a nymph-child, or an infant dryad."
What is the effect of Dimmesdale's decision described as being like?
A prisoner escaping the dungeon of his own heart and breathing "the wild, free atmosphere of an unredeemed, unchristianized, lawless region."
What does Hester say about the past when Dimmesdale asks why they didn't find happiness sooner?
"The past is gone! Wherefore should we linger upon it now? See! With this symbol I undo it all, and make it as if it had never been!"
What key theme does the chapter title "A Flood of Sunshine" represent?
The sudden influx of hope, happiness, and emotional renewal that accompanies Hester's symbolic rejection of Puritan judgment.
How does Pearl react when she sees the clergyman at the end of the chapter?
She approaches slowly through the forest and stops when she sees Dimmesdale—a hesitation that creates suspense for the next chapter.
What does the "ruined wall" metaphor foreshadow about Dimmesdale?
That his moral vulnerability is permanent—his moment of joy and freedom may be temporary because guilt has left a weakness that sin can exploit again.