Characters in The Scarlet Letter

02 03 04
01

Hester Roger Arthur

Pearl
Prynne Chillingworth Dimmesdale
 Hester Prynne
Hester Prynne is the heroine of The Scarlet Letter and a very
strong woman. As a young woman, she married an elderly scholar,
Roger, who sent her ahead to America. While waiting for him, she
had an affair with a Puritan minister named Dimmesdale, after
which she gave birth to Pearl.

 According to puritan rules, she must wear the scarlet

letter A on her body as a punishment for her adultery with Arthur
Dimmesdale, the town minister.

 What is most remarkable about Hester Prynne is her strength of

character. While Hawthorne does not give a great deal of
information about her life before the book opens, he does show her
remarkable character, revealed through her public humiliation and
isolated life in Puritan society.

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 01 02
Perhaps her most important
role is that of an iconoclast,
Hester plays many one who opposes established
roles in The Scarlet conventions or a person who
Letter: devoted attacks beliefs or
mother, abandoned institutions. Hawthorne
lover, estranged wife, develops her as a kind and
sympathetic woman who
religious dissenter,
suffers her agony, kindly
feminist, and outcast.
helps those less fortunate
than she, and patiently waits
for her life to improve.
. does what she can for
03
Hester is not just a rebel,
she's a glorified rebel, and
Hawthorne uses her to
criticize the Puritan's strict
society. He portrays Hester
fondly, as a woman of
strength, independence,
and kindness, who stands
up to the judgments and
constraints of her
society. Hester, however,
charitable causes.
04
Though society tries to demean
and disgrace her, Hawthorne
emphasizes that Hester is a very
strong woman. She works as a
seamstress. Hester’s
needlework creates her social
power. It is ironic that the only
"public sinner" in their town
creates beauty for all. Her silent
suffering wins the sympathy of
others but still fails to gain her
complete acceptance by the
Puritan society that surrounds
her.
 Roger Chillingworth
 Roger Chillingworth” is actually Hester’s
husband in disguise. He is much older than she is
and had sent her to America while he settled his
affairs in Europe. Because he is captured by Native
Americans, he arrives in Boston and finds Hester
and her child being displayed on the scaffold. He
lusts for revenge, and thus decides to stay in
Boston despite his wife’s betrayal and disgrace.

 He is a scholar and uses his knowledge to

disguise himself as a doctor, intents on discovering
and tormenting Hester’s lover. Roger in the novel is
self-absorbed and both physically and
psychologically monstrous. His single-minded and
pursuit of revenge reveals him to be the most
malevolent character in the novel.

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 Arthur Dimmesdale
 A well respected Boston reverend who has an affair
with Hester Prynne and is the secret father of Pearl. He is Shy
and well loved and respected by his public, Dimmesdale is too
frightened and selfish to reveal his sin and bear the burden of
punishment with Hester.
 Yet at the same time, Dimmesdale secretly punishes himself for
his sin by fasting and whipping himself. Ultimately the suffering
and punishment he endures, though self-inflicted, proves far
worse than Hester's or Pearl's, suggesting that betrayal and
selfishness are greater sins than adultery.
 Dimmesdale's guilty conscience overwhelms him like a plague,
robbing him of his health and preventing him from raising his
daughter. His eventual confession comes too late, and he dies a
victim of his own pride.

 His guilt gnaws at his heart. His failure to find peace and
happiness is caused by his refusal to seek the forgiveness of
God or of people.

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Dimmesdale is the other protagonist of the novel. He is a young
Puritan pastor with handsome features and an attractive voice.
Because of his moral spirit and inspired sermons, people dearly love
him. The more the people honor him, the more his guilt grows.

The fear of public exposure and its consequences prevents Dimmesdale from openly
confessing his sin although he mildly attempts to do so several times. When he does gather
strength to hint that he is a sinner, he does it so indirectly that his confession is considered
to be a sign of his humility. As a result, people love and praise him more.

Thus, Dimmesdale leads a hypocritical life. His duality, in retaining his moral image in public
and leading a life of repentance in private, mars his health and causes his physical decay.
Because of his own weakness and lack of courage, he fails to confess his sin and suffers in
his life.
 Pearl

 Pearl plays a significant role in the novel. Her mother has

paid for this child with her honor; therefore, the name has
importance, for she is Hester's only treasure. She is further a
living manifestation of the scarlet letter and a constant reminder
of her parents' sin.

 She is a happy child, secure in her mother's love. She,

however, wonders about her father and seems to understand
that Dimmesdale is somehow related to her. She is wary of him
because he refuses to be seen with her in public. She also
wonders why he always covers his heart with his hand. She is
an intelligent child, wise beyond her years.

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 01
Pearl is transformed at the
end of the novel when
Dimmesdale stands with her
on the scaffold and makes
his confession. It is obvious
that the child has yearned
for his love and acceptance
in the open.
02
He calls himself the one
sinner of the world.” tells
everyone to see that he, like
Hester, has a red stigma and
shows the letter A on his
breast.

03 04
When he asks her for
As a result, she cries with
a kiss, she willingly
real human emotion for
gives it. Her sense of
the first time in the book,
human identity is
foreshadowing that her
established in her
past is put away and she
acceptance of
will be able to live a
Dimmesdale's
normal life in the future.
paternity.
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