XXIII. The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter Practice Quiz — The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: XXIII. The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter
What is the subject of Dimmesdale's Election Sermon?
The relation between God and the communities of mankind, with a special reference to the New England colony, prophesying a high and glorious destiny for the Puritan people.
What undertone does the crowd detect in Dimmesdale's sermon?
A deep, sad undertone of pathos, which they interpret as the natural regret of a man who senses his own approaching death.
Where is Hester standing during Dimmesdale's sermon?
Beside the scaffold of the pillory, with the scarlet letter still burning on her breast.
Who offers to help Dimmesdale as he staggers in the procession?
Reverend John Wilson steps forward to offer his arm, but Dimmesdale tremulously but decidedly refuses the support.
What does Chillingworth whisper to Dimmesdale at the scaffold?
He calls him a madman and urges him to wave back Hester, cast off Pearl, and not blacken his fame, saying he can still save him.
How does Dimmesdale respond to Chillingworth's attempt to stop him?
He says "Ha, tempter! Methinks thou art too late!" and declares that with God's help he will escape Chillingworth's power.
What does Dimmesdale ask Hester to do on the scaffold?
He asks her to twine her strength about him and support him up to the scaffold, saying her strength must be guided by God's will.
What does Dimmesdale reveal to the crowd in his public confession?
He declares himself "the one sinner of the world" who should have stood on the scaffold seven years ago beside Hester, and tears away his ministerial band to reveal a mark on his breast.
What does Hawthorne say about describing the revelation on Dimmesdale's chest?
He says "it were irreverent to describe that revelation," deliberately leaving the nature of the mark ambiguous.
What does Chillingworth say after Dimmesdale's confession?
"Thou hast escaped me!" He repeats this more than once, acknowledging that his power over Dimmesdale is finished.
What happens when Pearl kisses Dimmesdale on the scaffold?
A spell is broken. Her tears become a pledge that she will grow up amid human joy and sorrow and be a woman in the world, rather than battling against it.
How had Pearl responded when Dimmesdale asked for a kiss in the forest?
She refused to kiss him in the forest, but on the scaffold she willingly kisses his lips and weeps upon his cheek.
What does Hester ask Dimmesdale as he is dying?
She asks whether they will meet again and spend their immortal life together, saying surely they have ransomed one another with all their suffering.
How does Dimmesdale answer Hester about their reunion in the afterlife?
He expresses fear that their sin may prevent a pure reunion, but leaves the matter to God's mercy, saying "God knows; and He is merciful!"
What three agonies does Dimmesdale say God mercifully gave him?
The burning torture on his breast, the dark old man (Chillingworth) who kept the torture at red-heat, and being brought to the scaffold to die this death of triumphant ignominy.
What is the significance of this being the third scaffold scene?
It completes the novel's structural pattern: the first scene shows Hester's public punishment, the second shows Dimmesdale's secret midnight vigil, and this final scene achieves his public confession and death.
How does the crowd interpret Dimmesdale's physical weakness?
They see it as another phase of his celestial strength, believing it would not have been too great a miracle for him to ascend bodily into heaven before their eyes.
What is ironic about the crowd's reaction to Dimmesdale's weakness?
They attribute his deterioration to spiritual holiness rather than recognizing it as the physical toll of guilt, hypocrisy, and self-punishment.
What imagery does Hawthorne use to describe Dimmesdale's glow fading?
He compares it to a flame that sinks down hopelessly among late-decaying embers, suggesting the divine inspiration has been withdrawn now that the sermon is finished.
What does Chillingworth mean when he says "there was no one place so secret... where thou couldst have escaped me, save on this very scaffold"?
Chillingworth's power depended on Dimmesdale's secret. Only by publicly confessing on the scaffold could Dimmesdale escape, because the confession destroys Chillingworth's leverage entirely.
What is Dimmesdale's last word?
"Farewell!" This final word comes forth with his expiring breath after he praises God's mercy and accepts his death.
How does Governor Bellingham react to Dimmesdale's condition?
He keeps an anxious eye on the minister and advances to give assistance, but something in Dimmesdale's expression warns him back.