At the end of the novel, Dimmesdale makes a speech and exposes his chest to the community gathered around the scaffold, then dies. A short time later, Chillingworth also dies and leaves his fortune to Pearl; Pearl and Hester go abroad, but Hester returns alone years later to live out her days quietly in the New England community.
The ending turns the story into a narrative of redemption, and one in which good triumphs over evil. She will not be haunted by her past, and most likely lives the happy life that Hester was denied. However, while the ending does allow for redemption and peace, it is not, strictly speaking, a happy ending.
Rather, the ending shows how individuals can learn from past mistakes, even if they also have to live with the consequences of those actions. Since Pearl is his only connection to love in the world he gives her the inheritance. I think that Chillingworth gave his inheritance to Pearl because he had realized that although an adulterer, Dimmesdale was actually a good father for the somewhat short time he was there.
This can be shown when Dimmesdale finally confessed and Pearl kissed him because of that. Chillingworth might have thought if Dimmsdale had done the right thing, then he could as well. By him doing this I think it ended up killing him him. I personally think that it was purely a last second apology for all the pain and suffering that Chillingworth had caused Pearl and Hester. By continuing to torture Pearl's parents, Chillingworth has definitely indirectly added a lot of stress to Pearl's life.
Aside from that, Pearl hasn't exactly had the most normal life. In a way, I think Chillingworth just feels sorry for what Pearl had to go through.
Pearl was the only character who suffered that did NOT partake in a mortal sin. She was dragged into the whole ordeal. Maybe Chillingworth, although in the hardest possible way, finally learned his lesson. Maybe he saw through the two-faced Puritan society and learned to forgive and forget. Share this: Twitter Facebook.
Like this: Like Loading Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email required Address never made public. Name required. Follow Following. Show freely to the world, if not your worst, yet some trait whereby the worst may be inferred! In considering which characters follow this caveat, Hawthorne discusses their fates. Chillingworth, consumed by his revenge, shrivels up and vanishes. He leaves Pearl great wealth in his will, and she and her mother disappear, presumably to Europe.
After their departure, the legend of the scarlet letter grows. Finally, one day Hester returns alone and inhabits once again the little cottage. She wears gray and reapplies the scarlet A to her bosom. No one knows Pearl's fate, but people assume that she married well and had a family because letters with the seals of heraldry arrive for Hester and articles of comfort and luxury are found in her cottage.
Hester is also seen embroidering baby garments; instead of Puritan colors, she uses most un-Puritan-like lavish and rich materials.
Finally, Hester becomes a symbol of comfort and compassion, and upon her death, she is buried in the cemetery near the prison door where she first was incarcerated. While alive, she gives hope and comfort to those who feel sorrow and pain, and, accordingly, the scarlet letter becomes a symbol of help.
She becomes a prophet of a better time where human happiness will be easier to obtain than in the rigid rules of Puritan society. When she dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale. Their graves are slightly apart but with a single gravestone bearing the inscription: "On a field, sable, the letter A, gules.
This concluding chapter serves to answer whatever questions the reader may have after the final scaffold scene.
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