XXII. The Procession Practice Quiz — The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: XXII. The Procession
What event is the procession in Chapter XXII celebrating?
Election Day, during which a new governor is installed and Reverend Dimmesdale delivers the Election Sermon.
In what order do the groups appear in the procession?
First the musicians, then the military escort in burnished steel and plumed morions, then the colonial magistrates, and finally Dimmesdale.
How does Dimmesdale appear physically during the procession?
He walks with extraordinary energy, his step firm, his frame unbowed, and his hand not resting on his heart—a stark contrast to his usual frailty.
What three possible sources does Hawthorne suggest for Dimmesdale’s sudden vitality?
Spiritual strength from angelic ministrations, intellectual exhilaration from composing the sermon, and invigoration from the piercing music.
How does Hester react when Dimmesdale passes without acknowledging her?
She feels he is utterly beyond her reach and wonders if their forest meeting was a delusion, her spirit sinking as she can "scarcely forgive him" for withdrawing from their mutual world.
What question does Pearl ask her mother after the procession passes?
"Mother, was that the same minister that kissed me by the brook?"
How does Hester respond to Pearl’s question about the minister?
"We must not always talk in the marketplace of what happens to us in the forest."—reinforcing the divide between public and private life.
Who is Mistress Hibbins and what does she claim to know?
She is a reputed witch of the colony. She claims to recognize that Dimmesdale has been to the forest and carries a hidden mark of sin beneath the hand he presses to his heart.
What does Mistress Hibbins tell Pearl about her lineage?
She tells Pearl she is "of the lineage of the Prince of the Air" and will one day see what the minister hides over his heart.
Why can’t Hester enter the meeting-house to hear the sermon?
It is too crowded to admit another listener, so she stands outside near the scaffold of the pillory.
What does Hester hear in Dimmesdale’s sermon even though she cannot make out the words?
A deep undertone of anguish—"the complaint of a human heart, sorrow-laden, perchance guilty, telling its secret" to mankind and never begging in vain for sympathy.
What is the symbolic significance of Hester standing at the foot of the scaffold during the sermon?
The scaffold is the narrative’s symbolic axis. Hester senses her "whole orb of life" is connected to this spot, foreshadowing the climactic confession scene.
What devastating message does the shipmaster ask Pearl to deliver to Hester?
That Roger Chillingworth has arranged to board the same ship to Europe, destroying Hester and Dimmesdale’s plan to escape.
How does Pearl respond when the shipmaster calls her "witch-baby"?
She retorts that Mistress Hibbins says her father is the Prince of the Air, and threatens he will chase the ship with a tempest.
What happens when country visitors, sailors, and Indians gather around Hester?
They stare at the scarlet letter with rude intrusiveness, making it "sear her breast more painfully than at any time since the first day she put it on."
What is the dramatic irony in the chapter’s final paragraph?
The crowd sees Dimmesdale as a saint in the pulpit and Hester as the sole sinner in the marketplace, when in truth "the same scorching stigma was on them both."
How does Hawthorne characterize the colonial magistrates in the procession?
As men of "ponderous sobriety" and "fortitude and self-reliance" who commanded natural reverence—not brilliant, but stable and dignified.
What similes does Hawthorne use to describe Pearl in the marketplace?
"A bird of bright plumage" illuminating dusky foliage, and "a flake of the sea-foam" gifted with a soul of sea-fire—emphasizing her wild, natural energy.
What theme does the muffled quality of the sermon illustrate?
That emotional and spiritual truth communicates more powerfully through tone and feeling than through intellectual content—the voice speaks in "a tongue native to the human heart."
What does Hawthorne mean when he writes that men of uncommon intellect "throw the life of many days" into one effort?
That Dimmesdale’s extraordinary energy is a concentrated expenditure of his remaining life force, implying he will be "lifeless" afterward—foreshadowing his death.
Which named colonial magistrates does Hawthorne mention in the procession?
Bradstreet, Endicott, Dudley, and Bellingham—all historical figures who held positions of power in colonial Massachusetts.
What is the "magic circle of ignominy" Hawthorne describes around Hester?
The invisible boundary created by the scarlet letter that keeps onlookers at a distance of several yards, drawn by curiosity but repelled by the symbol’s power.