The Scarlet Letter Plot Analysis

Initial Situation

A description of the market place and the prison

Welcome to the Massachusetts Bay Colony (later known as Boston). We’re in the mid 17th century, and there are lots of buildings in this town, namely a prison and public square. Law and religion go hand in hand.

Conflict

Hester encounters her long-lost husband

As Hester Prynne is being publicly shamed for committing adultery, she recognizes her long-lost husband in the crowd of onlookers. Her husband has crossed the ocean after all, and, distraught at what he finds once he gets to the colonies, he decides to make it his life’s goal to figure out whom Hester’s lover is.

Complication

The Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale has a secret

Roger Chillingworth worms his way into the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale’s confidence. One evening when the minister falls asleep, Chillingworth pokes around under Dimmesdale’s shirt and is delighted with what he finds there. Whatever is there, which the narrator does not reveal to the reader, has marked the Reverend Dimmesdale as guilty. Chillingworth now knows that he has found Hester’s lover.

Climax

Hester and Dimmesdale plan to run away together to make a new life for themselves in the Old World.

She urges Dimmesdale to escape at the soonest possible moment but the minister claims he has no energy left even though it means his death. That is when Hester suggests her daring plan – that she will accompany Dimmesdale to the Old World, where they can make a new life together.

Dimmesdale agrees to the plan, and it gives him an energy he has lacked for a long time. Their plan is to leave in three days’ time, board a ship currently in harbor, escape to the Old World, and make a new life for themselves. But first, the minister will give his last sermon, on Election Sunday.

Suspense

The minister gives his Election Day Sermon

On Election Sunday, when Hester and Pearl go to the marketplace to observe some of the holiday proceedings, they are approached by the shipmaster, who lets Hester know that another traveler has secured a berth to sail with him in the morning – Roger Chillingworth. Hester is horrified, understanding then that they will never escape Chillingworth’s need for revenge.

Denouement

The Reverend Dimmesdale confesses his sin publicly on the town’s scaffold. He opens his shirt, revealing the scarlet letter A carved onto his chest. Then he collapses and dies.

After preaching the best sermon of his life, the Reverend Dimmesdale proceeds from the church to the town hall. As he moves through the crowds, everybody thinks they see a saintly glow around him. But some recognize how close he is to collapsing. The Reverend John Wilson tries to offer assistance but Dimmesdale waves him away. When at last Dimmesdale reaches Hester, he asks her for assistance, and she helps him climb up the scaffolding. When he makes his intent to confess clear, Chillingworth, who has followed them, declares that this alone will satisfy his need for revenge. The minister, holding on to Hester, confesses his sin to the crowd and flings open his clothing to reveal the mark upon his chest – a scarlet letter A. At last, he collapses and dies, but not before exclaiming that he has found peace at last.

Conclusion

Hester returns to Boston

Having made a life with Pearl in England, Hester returns to the society that treated her terribly for so long. She starts wearing in the scarlet A again. This time, however, she is not shunned. She is revered by the community, and she is buried in a grave near Arthur Dimmesdale’s.