XX. The Minister in a Maze Practice Quiz — The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: XX. The Minister in a Maze
Where have Dimmesdale and Hester agreed to escape to?
They plan to sail to Bristol, England, aboard a ship currently in Boston harbor, choosing the Old World over the American wilderness for its civilization and concealment.
Why is Dimmesdale pleased about the timing of the ship's departure?
The ship departs on the fourth day, allowing him to deliver his Election Sermon on the third day — a prestigious final act before abandoning his ministry.
How does Dimmesdale's physical condition change after the forest meeting?
He displays "unweariable activity," leaping over obstacles and moving rapidly, in stark contrast to the feeble, breathless state in which he entered the forest two days earlier.
What does Dimmesdale almost say to the elderly deacon?
He nearly utters blasphemous suggestions about the communion supper, trembling and turning pale as he struggles to keep his tongue from speaking the horrible words.
What wicked thought does Dimmesdale have regarding the devout old woman?
He can recall no Scripture, only a brief, unanswerable argument against the immortality of the human soul, which he nearly whispers into her ear.
How does the young maiden react after Dimmesdale hurries past her?
She ransacks her conscience for imaginary faults and goes about her household duties with swollen eyelids the next morning, blaming herself for his rudeness.
What is Dimmesdale tempted to do with the group of Puritan children?
He wants to stop and teach them "very wicked words," but denies himself the impulse as unworthy of his clerical position.
What does Dimmesdale want to do when he encounters the drunken sailor?
He longs to shake hands with the sailor and exchange improper jests and "heaven-defying oaths" — a desire he resists through ingrained clerical decorum.
What does Mistress Hibbins imply about Dimmesdale's forest visit?
She implies he went to meet the Devil, offering to accompany him next time and promising they will "have other talk together" at midnight in the forest.
How does Dimmesdale explain his forest visit to Mistress Hibbins?
He claims he went to greet the Apostle Eliot and rejoice over souls won from "heathendom" — a pious lie that Hibbins sees through immediately.
What famous yellow starch detail does Hawthorne include about Mistress Hibbins?
Her ruff is done up with famous yellow starch, whose secret she learned from Anne Turner before Turner was hanged for Sir Thomas Overbury's murder — linking Hibbins to real historical crime.
How does Chillingworth greet Dimmesdale upon his return home?
He asks about the "godly" Apostle Eliot, echoing Dimmesdale's own lie, and offers his medical aid to prepare the minister for the Election Sermon.
How does Dimmesdale respond to Chillingworth's offer of medicine?
He declines, saying the free air and his journey have restored his health, signaling that he no longer trusts or needs his physician-tormentor.
What does Hawthorne say about wearing two faces?
"No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true."
What Faustian question does Dimmesdale ask himself?
He wonders: "Did I make a contract with him in the forest, and sign it with my blood? And does he now summon me to its fulfilment?"
What is Chillingworth's parting remark about prayers?
"A good man's prayers are golden recompense... the current gold coin of the New Jerusalem, with the King's own mint-mark on them" — an ironic comment given his knowledge of Dimmesdale's sin.
What does Dimmesdale do with his half-finished Election Sermon?
He flings the already written pages into the fire and writes an entirely new sermon in one night of feverish inspiration, finishing at sunrise.
What is the significance of Dimmesdale feeling like a different person returning from the forest?
It illustrates that his decision to flee with Hester has fundamentally altered his identity — he tells himself "I am not the man for whom you take me" — showing his old self is gone.
How does Hawthorne distinguish Dimmesdale's forest sin from his original sin with Hester?
The original affair was not a "deliberate choice," but his plan to escape is a conscious, willful embrace of what he knows to be "deadly sin" — making it morally worse in Hawthorne's framework.
What literary device does Hawthorne use in the series of temptation encounters?
He uses an escalating episodic structure that parallels the biblical temptation of Christ, but inverted: Dimmesdale carries the Devil's influence out of the wilderness into civilization.
What role does dramatic irony play in this chapter?
Readers know the truth about Dimmesdale's forest visit while every townsperson he encounters remains oblivious, making his pious lies and their trusting responses deeply ironic.
How does Hester plan to secure passage on the ship?
Through her work as a "self-enlisted Sister of Charity," Hester has become acquainted with the captain and crew and can arrange passage for two adults and a child in secret.
What does Hawthorne mean by calling Dimmesdale's vanity "pitiably weak"?
Dimmesdale's desire to leave with a perfect professional reputation — delivering one last great sermon — reveals that even in his most honest moment, he cannot abandon his need for public approval.
What does the image of the "foul organ-pipe" suggest?
Dimmesdale wonders that Heaven transmits its "grand and solemn music" through someone as sinful as himself, suggesting his inspiration may be genuine despite — or because of — his moral corruption.