Literature Related to Hester and Pearl in The Scarlet Letter

"Hester at her needle" (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)

Pearl in The Scarlet Letter   Hester in The Scarlet Letter

Pearl of The Scarlet Letter is an independent child, gorgeously arrayed, who attracts the cruelty of Puritan children, the attention of the governor as well as other town elders who wish to ensure her proper Christian teaching, and the devoted love of her mother. Pearl is impetuous, difficult to control, occasionally kind and loving, and always fascinated with the scarlet "A" that covers her mother's breast. She intuitively knows there is a connection between her mother and the minister, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who always holds his hand over his heart. Although considered to be symbolic of the adulterous sin her parents committed, Pearl is in reality more an untamed child of nature. With people and within the town or houses, she is an oddity, but within the woods or by a stream, she is in her own, uncensoring element.

Pearl plays a part in the following 19 chapters of The Scarlet Letter: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, and 24. She plays a significant role in Chapter 6 - "Pearl;" Chapter 7 - "The Governor's Hall;" Chapter 8 - "The Elf Child and the Minister;" Chapter 12 - "The Minister's Vigil;" Chapter 15 - "Hester and Pearl;" Chapter 16 - "A Forest Walk;" Chapter 18 - "A Flood of Sunshine;" Chapter 19- "The Child at the Brook-Side;" and Chapter 23 - "The Revelation."

In Chapter 2 - "The Market Place" Hester Prynne is temporarily taken out of jail in order to be displayed on the scaffold for all the town to stare at.

 

Pearl is initially introduced in The Scarlet Letter as a 3-month-old baby leaving the prison with her mother Hester clasping her to her breast where the letter A has been embroidered. Our first image of her shows her turning away from the bright light of day because her life up until now has been in dim light or darkness of the prison. Hawthorne perceives the baby both as the offspring of a Virgin birth and as an offspring of dreadful sin. Finally Hester equates the baby with the shame of her sin and realizes that both of them will be the object of scrutiny of the townspeople.

Full text of Chapter 2 - "The Market Place"

In Chapter 3 - "The Recognition," no one can force Hester to identify the father of her baby.

 

When Pearl initially meets Arthur Dimmesdale, she holds up her arms to him whereas when Roger Chillingworth spots her, she cries out in pain. Neither man claims her, and Chillingworth uses her as he begins his quest to figure out with whom Hester sinned.

Full text of Chapter 3 - "The Recognition"

In Chapter 4 - "The Interview," Hester and her missing husband are reunited.

 

Back in prison with her mother, Pearl is in immense pain. It is suggested that nursing from her mother has caused to internalize Hester's anguish and not nourishing sustenance. Roger Chillingworth, a healer, is summoned to see to the ailing babe and her mother who distrusts her long-missing husband's intentions towards the child. Chillingworth is professional and quiets the bawling child.

Full text of Chapter 4 - "The Interview"

In Chapter 5 - "Hester at her Needle," Hester practices her needlework so she can support herself and her baby.

 

While Hester dresses herself somberly and makes a living as a seamstress, she designs and sews elaborate, fantastic clothing for her little Pearl. Townspeople and strangers alike will gawk at both the scarlet "A" on her breast and at her child.

Full text of Chapter 5 - "Hester and her Needle"

In Chapter 6 - "Pearl," the young child is introduced.

 

All of chapter 6 focuses on Pearl as a baby and young child: her appearance, her dress, her interaction with other children as well as her environment, and her connection with the scarlet letter. What follows is a series of questions, which can be answered from the chapter, which is included in its entirety.

 

• Why does Hester name her daughter Pearl? What is the great price Hester must pay and what does she fear about the child?
• What is special about Pearl's physical appearance and her clothing? What is the passion contained within her personality?
• How should Hester discipline this willful child, who is a spirit onto herself? As Pearl grows up, will she connect with other children or forever be an outcast? Will an evilness in her nature control her interactions with the Puritan children?
• How does Pearl play within her natural environment outside their cottage home? How does her play mirror her observations of the adult and children Puritans?
• How does Pearl react to the scarlet A embroidered on her mother's chest? How do Pearl and Hester talk about the scarlet letter and Pearl's paternity?

Full text of Chapter 6 - "Pearl"

In Chapter 7 - "The Governor' Hall," Hester comes to confront the governor.

 

• When Governor Bellingham and his cronies wish to remove the potentially demonic child Pearl from her mother Hester in order to save her soul through religious tutoring which they feel is lacking at home, Hester visits the Governor's mansion determined to keep her child.
• On their route to the governor's home, Pearl, a fickle embodiment of the scarlet letter both in dress and passions, ferociously repels the cruel attack of taunting and mud slinging by the Puritan children.
• The brighter but still selfish side of Pearl is shown as she delights in the day's glorious sunshine.
• Pearl tortures her mother at the governor's stately mansion by insisting Hester suffer looking at the numerous reflections of the scarlet letter in the shiny armor. The scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions.
• The mercurial Pearl throws a temporary fit when denied a rose from the garden.

Full text of Chapter 7 - "The Governor's Hall"

In Chapter 8 - "The Elf Child and the Minister," Hester comes to plea for her child.

 

Governor Bellingworth argues that Pearl, who resembles an elf or a fairy in the minds of himself and his guests. should be taken from her mother, clad in somber clothes, and instructed in religious truths. The governor is horrified at Pearl's sacrilegious answer when asked, "Who made thee?"

 

• Two of his guests are integrally connected to Pearl and Hester's lives: the minister Arthur Dimmesdale and the physician Roger Chillingworth. Hester passionately argues that she must be allowed to keep Pearl or else die. She explains that her daily shame will help her instruct the child wisely.
• When Hester's appeal almost threatens Arthur Dimmesdale for his support, he argues fervently for Hester to be able to keep the child.
• Whimsically, Pearl shows rare affection to the Minister Dimmesdale, who shyly kisses her before she cavorts away. There is an undeniable bond between the two.
• Mistress Hibbons, the governor's sister purported to be a witch, bids Hester join her to see the "Black Man" in the forest. Hester, having convinced the governor that she should keep Pearl, proudly refuses to accompany Mistress Hibbons.

Full text of Chapter 8 - "The Elf Child and the Minister"

In Chapter 10 - "The Leach and His Patient," Hester and Pearl are observed by Chillingworth and Dimmesdale.

 

While Roger Chillingworth and his patient Arthur Dimmesdale converse about the secret sins of men, they spy Hester in the cemetery with Pearl merrily dancing on grave stones and then decorating her mother's bosom with burrs, one of which she tosses at Dimmesdale.

Full text of Chapter 10 - "The Leach and His Patient"

In Chapter 12 -"The Minister's Vigil," Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold.

 

On the night when Arthur Dimmesdale does penance on the scaffold where Hester holding baby Pearl had stood accused of adultery, Dimmesdale experiences a multitude of emotions. When the tortured minister laughs, his laughter is echoed by the elfish laughter of Pearl. Dimmesdale bids Hester and Pearl to come onto the scaffold, where they link hands, and he is energized. However, when Pearl asks him to publicly hold mother and child's hands on the scaffold in the daylight, he refuses but promised to do so at judgment day.

 

• When Roger Chillingworth appears out of the dark, the terrified Dimmsdale panics and asks who he is. Pearl offers to reveal his identity.

Full text of Chapter 12

In Chapter 14 - "Hester and the Physician," Hester tells Chillingworth that she intends to break her promise to him. Before Hester confronts the physician Roger Chillingworth about the poor plight of Arthur Dimmesdale and her plans to tell the minister of Chillingworth's true identity, she bids Pearl go play along the bank of a stream.

 

• Hester admits that she believes that the four of them: the physician, the minister, herself, and Pearl are trapped in a hopeless mess.

Full text of Chapter 14 - "Hester and the Physician"

In Chapter 15 - "Hester and Pearl," Hester and Pearl linger in the woods and Pearl questions her mother.

 

Guiltily, Hester realizes that she hates her estranged husband. When Roger Chillingworth departs, she calls Pearl to her side. The child has been playing with the playthings that nature provides and feels quilt when she maims a bird.

 

• As always Pearl is fascinated, perhaps obsessed, with the scarlet "A" on her mother's bosom and so fashions a similar "A" made of green seaweed upon herself.
• Pearl shows off her sea-green "A" to her mother who questions her about the meaning of the scarlet "A".
• Pearl answers readily that the scarlet A is on Hester's bosom for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart. Pearl now asks Hester what does the A mean and why does the minister hold his hand over his heart.
• Hester, surprised at the gentle seriousness of her daughter, begins to wonder if Pearl might now be able to be a companion to Hester. She analyzes the strengths and deficits of Pearl's character. She gives Pearl a frivolous, false answer to her questions.
• Hester has been false to the scarlet letter for the first time in her life when she lies to her daughter. Pearl persists in asking about the connection between the minister and her mother.

Full text of Chapter 15 - "Hester and Pearl"

In Chapter 16 - "A Forest Walk," Hester and Pearl seek the minister in the woods.

On the day Hester sets out with her constant companion Pearl to meet Arthur Dimmesdale so she can tell him the truth about Roger Chillingworth, the forest gives them shelter from spying eyes and reflects their personalities.

 

• The sunshine seems to favor Pearl and shun Hester.
• Pearl questions her mother about the Black Man that she has heard tales about and wonders if the man Hester is meeting in the Black Man. Later, she ironically wonders if the Black Man put his mark upon the minister, causing him to have his hand over his heart.

   

  Hester requests that Pearl give her some privacy, so Pearl goes to listen to the "unintelligible secret" of the stream, paralleling the secret about her mother and the minister who arrives, "haggard and feeble" but lacking his usual look of suffering. The forest is already healing them and giving each of them a space to breathe freely.

  Full text of Chapter 16

In Chapter 18 - "A Flood of Sunshine," Hester tries to reconcile Dimmesdale and Pearl.

In the forest as Hester and Dimmedale resolve to flee the taint of their sin of adultery and as the sunshine temporarily shines upon them, Hester removes her scarlet letter and tosses it toward the stream while she lets her hair cascade down her back. Eagerly, she tells her former lover that he must come to know and love Pearl. He is uncertain of his reception with the child whom he fears.

 

• At the same time, Pearl finds companionship in the woods and plays contentedly.
• Seeing Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl's pace becomes hesitant.

Full text of Chapter 18 - "A Flood of Sunshine"

In Chapter 19 - "The Child at the Brook-Side," Pearl returns to her mother's side.

Their love rekindled, Hester and Arthur Dimmesdale watch Pearl, the "visible tie that united them." Hester warns Pearl's unacknowledged father to be calm while Dimmesdale admits he is fearful of this child and eager and fearful for this interview.

 

• As Pearl is mirrored in the brook, Hester feels a distinct separateness from the child who has been her constant companion.
• Pearl, seeing that her mother has changed, remains apart from the couple while Hester urges her daughter to come and know the man who will be her new friend and will love her.
• Pearl insistently demands that her mother pick up the flung away scarlet letter and return it to its proper place on her chest.
• The minister begs Hester to pacify the child and give in to her demands.
• Pearl, victorious, rewards her mother with tenderness and kisses for herself and the scarlet letter. However when the minister kisses her, she races back to stream sanctuary and washes it off. After all, he will not go back to town hand in hand with his daughter and her mother.

Full text of Chapter 19 - "The Child at the Brook-Side"

In Chapter 20 - "The Minister in a Maze," Hester tries to reconcile Dimmesdale and Pearl.

The minister departs and casts one look more at Hester and Pearl before he returns to the town and has irreverent imaginary dialogues with townspeople who would be shocked at his blasphemy.

 

Full text of Chapter 20-"The Minister in a Maze"

In Chapter 21 - "The New England Holiday," Hester and Pearl observe a town holiday.

 

• During the holiday to celebrate the new governor taking his office, Pearl and Hester join the townspeople, Indians, sailors, and other visitors in the market place. Pearl's dress captures the brilliancy of nature while her mood is in "sympathy in the agitations" of her mother soon to flee this judgmental community.
• A curious child, Pearl questions the holiday behavior of people and the friendliness of their former jailer.
• Pearl asks if the minister will be present and if he will join hands with them before she gives an astute description of his isolated loneliness.

Full text of Chapter 21 - "The New England Holiday"

In Chapter 22 - "The Procession," Pearl is fascinated and enlivened by the town holiday and her mother's strange mood.

Pearl delights in the music and marching in a nervous, agitated way.

• As Hester watches the minister and questions if their former possible deep bond can really be rekindled, Pearl questions the identity of Arthur Dimmesdale, who seems a stranger to both of them.
• Pearl's wild nature entertains the crowd as well as the shipmaster who was arranging Hester's and Dimmesdale's passage to England.
• Pearl becomes the messenger for the ship captain, bringing a message of despair to Hester.

 

Full text of Chapter 22 - "The Procession"

In Chapter 23 - "The Revelation," Pearl is fascinated and enlivened by the town holiday and her mother's strange mood.

After the much beloved Arthur Dimmesdale gives a memorable sermon, the crowd is stunned as he beckons Hester and Pearl to join him on the scaffold. The minister's physical presence is weak but his spiritual essence is strong.

• The desperately shaken Roger Chillingworth vainly attempts to stop Dimmesdale, but Pearl embraces him as Hester slowly joins him.
• The frenzied crowd watches the pageant play out.
• Even in his determination, Dimmesdale asks Hester if this public unmasking is better than their fleeing to a safe haven in England.
• Does the minister reveal their secret or not?
• Dimmesdale asks Pearl to kiss him, and the child kisses him and weeps upon her father, giving her hope of future that won't be a constant battle.

Full text of Chapter 23 - "The Revelation"

In Chapter 24 - "The Conclusion," the future of Hester and Pearl is glimpsed.

 

Within a year of Dimmesdale's dramatic death, Roger Chillingworth withers away and dies, leaving Pearl a fortune.

She and her mother depart for England, where it is rumored that Pearl stays and marries while her mother returns to her little cottage and receives generous gifts from her overseas daughter.

Full text of Chapter 24 - "The Conclusion"

Passages in The Scarlet Letter related to Hester

Hester Prynne plays a major role in The Scarlet Letter, appearing in all but a few chapters. Her struggles with the demands placed upon her by her own conscience, her role as a mother, her culture, and her heart allow Hawthorne to develop a multi-faceted character, one whose own nature reflects many of the meanings that come to be associated with the scarlet letter A. Her absence from chapters 9, 10, and 11 adds to their darkness as Hawthorne focuses on the relationship and tensions between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. By the end of the novel, Hester has endured pain and loss, but returns to the Puritan settlement in New England where the narrator claims "there was a more real life for her" than in the old England to which she had retreated after Dimmesdale's death.

In Chapter 2, before he introduces Hester Prynne and her plight, Hawthorne describes the women of this Puritan settlement, emphasizing their rigidity and hard-heartedness, to emphasize Hester's difference from them.

Hawthorne then introduces Hester Prynne, describing her appearance and the striking boldness of the scarlet letter A that she has embroidered on the bosom of her dress.

Alone upon the scaffold, Hester must endure public exposure and the scrutiny of the entire community as part of the punishment meted out for her sin of adultery.

While she stands upon the scaffold, Hester thinks back over the course of her life.

In Chapter 3, Hester recognizes her husband, who now goes by the name of Roger Chillingworth standing amid the crowd of onlookers.

While she continues to stand upon the scaffold, Hester is addressed first by the chief clergyman, the Reverend John Wilson, and then by the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who asks her to name her partner in adultery, which Hester refuses to do.

In an unexpected moment of resistance, Hester openly refuses Wilson's demand that she speak the name of her child's father

Once she has returned to her jail cell in Chapter 4, Hester receives a visit from Roger Chillingworth, who offers a sleeping potion to calm Pearl and Hester.

While Hester and Chillingworth converse, he asks her to reveal her partner's name. When she refuses, Chillingworth asks that she keep the secret of his identity as well, placing another burden upon Hester.

In Chapter 5, Hester is released from prison and must face her life of solitude.

Hawthorne explores the reasons why Hester remains at the margins of the Puritan settlement, when she is free to leave if she wishes

Although she has few resources, Hester supports herself and her child through the embroidery that she does. Hawthorne places Hester in the role of an artist through the creativity she exercises with her needle.

The community values the needlework Hester does, but Hester feels that she remains an outsider and senses constant reminders of the punishment she has incurred for her sin.

Hester believes that her own sin and suffering have given her insights into the secrets concealed in other hearts.

In Chapter 6, Hawthorne describes Hester's attitudes toward rearing her child and indicates that she questions her child's nature.

In Chapter 7, Hester seeks an interview with Governor Bellingham because she has heard rumors that some members of the community wish to remove Pearl from her care.

The interview takes place in Chapter 8, during which Hester speaks not only before Bellingham, but also to Wilson, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale.

Seven years have passed when Hawthorne explores the changes in Hester's character in Chapter 13. The narrator comments on her changed position within the community and the ways people have come to think of her.

The narrator also explores Hester's inner nature, suggesting that here change has not occurred, at least not the change that the community had expected.

Shocked by the condition of Dimmesdale during their encounter on the scaffold, Hester wonders whether she has failed him in some way by not protecting him from Chillingworth.

Hester seeks an interview with Chillingworth, during which she confronts him about his treatment of Dimmesdale.

Chillingworth acknowledges what he has become, and forces Hester to admit her own involvement in what has occurred.

In Chapter 15, Hester reflects on her feelings toward Chillingworth and believes his acts of betrayal are greater than hers.

She also faces questioning from Pearl about the scarlet letter, lying to her daughter about the reasons she wears it.

In Chapter 17, Hester encounters Arthur Dimmesdale on a woodland. path as he returns from a visit to the minister John Eliot. Hester and Dimmesdale have a sustained conversation in which they admit their lack of inner peace. During this conversation, Hester confesses the true identity of Roger Chillingworth and blames herself for not telling him sooner. She begs Dimmesdale forgiveness, which he grants.

During the intimacy of this meeting, Hester and Dimmesdale confess that they have not forgotten what they were to each other. Dimmesdale asks Hester to use her strength to support him, and she encourages him to consider the possibility that they can escape together without being discovered.

Having contemplated the possibility of escape, Hester removes the scarlet letter in Chapter 18. Freed from its weight and restraint, she uncovers her hair, revealing her beauty that had been hidden under the burdens that she carried.

Believing that she and Dimmesdale have been freed from the constraints their secrets have imposed upon them, Hester wants him to meet Pearl as his child. But Pearl's reaction when she approaches them forces Hester to reassume the scarlet letter, and with it weight of fatefulness that accompanies it.

After her encounter with Dimmesdale, Hester contemplates the possibilities of freedom as the community begins its Election Day celebrations in Chapter 21.

Her feelings about the possibility of freedom are cut short, however, when Hester learns that Roger Chillingworth has arranged passage on the same ship that she had hoped to use for her and Dimmesdale's escape.

In Chapter 22, Hester watches the Election Day processional, looking for a sign of acknowledgement from Dimmesdale. While doing so, she has a brief encounter with Mistress Hibbens, a woman suspected of witchcraft, who says unsettling things to Hester.

Hester is further unsettled by the news that Chillingworth plans to accompany Dimmesdale on the sea voyage, feeling that an "inevitable doom" overhangs her plans. She also faces the gaze of many who have not seen the scarlet letter before, reminding her of a never ending scrutiny to which she must submit.

When Dimmesdale verges on collapse upon the scaffold in Chapter 23, Hester moves toward him to answer his call for her strength to support him. Hester is once again drawn into the center of public attention as the gathered crowds speculate about the meaning of the minister's words and gestures.

Having supported the dying Dimmesdale during his speech before the community, Hester expresses her hope that they might meet in the hereafter, but Dimmesdale believes their sin has been to great to hold out such hope.

Years after the final events on the scaffold, Hester returns to her cottage, choosing voluntarily to live on the outskirts of the community and offering consolation to those who suffer turmoil of the heart as had she. Hawthorne claims that in Hester's day the world was not ready for a woman of independent thought and spirit, but that Hester held out hope that "a new truth would be revealed" that would reorder relations between men and women.

Full text ofThe Scarlet Lettrer

Images Relating to Hester and Pearl in The Scarlet Letter

Images Relating to Hester and Pearl in The Scarlet Letter

• General Images Relating to The Scarlet Letter
• Images of or Relating to Hester
• Images of or Relating to Hester and Pearl
• Images of or Relating to Pearl
• Original Hugh Thomson watercolors
• from The Scarlet Letter, 1920 edition, illustrated by Hugh Thomson

General Images Relating to The Scarlet Letter

	The Scarlet Letter, 1892 edition Cover of 1892 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by the Riverside Press in Cambridge. (narration by Dr. Philip Sbaratta}
	Cake with the letter "A" for celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Scarlet Letter at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site
	Poster from 1965 film version of The Scarlet Letter
	Poster advertising 1934 film version of The Scarlet Letter directed by Robert Vignola. This poster,owned by Peter Blatty, was exhibited at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Scarlet Letter at the Salem Custom House. The film was shot in Salem's Pioneer Village and Sherman Oaks, CA, and starred Colleen Moore. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Title page of 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter Early illustrated edition of The Scarlet Letter published in Boston by James R. Osgood and Company, formerly Ticknor, Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co. (courtesy of James R. Osgood and Co.)
	The Prison Door from "The Custom-House" chapter of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston.Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (49)
	Vignette on first page of Chapter 7, "The Governor's Hall" of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (118)
	The Minister and Leech from chapter entitled "The Leech" of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (148)
	Mandrake from chapter entitled "Hester and the Physician" inThe Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (211)
	"He gathered herbs here and there" from chapter entitled "Hester and Pearl" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston (213)
	Arthur Dimmesdale Fig. 4. Wood engraving by Barry Moser for the Pennyroyal Press from the January 1991 edition of the Essex Institute Historical Collection, vol. 127, no. 1; originally printed in 1984 edition of The Scarlet Letter(New York: Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich, 1984)Referring to the image in the 1984 HBJ edition, Dr. Rita Gollin, author of the essay "The Scarlet Letter," points out that "Mosler's images play an active interpretive role in this edition, particularly this final image showing Arthur Dimmesdale with his eyes downcast and the scar of an "A" clearly visible on his chest" (28). (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)

Images of or Relating to Hester

	Illustration from painting of The Scarlet Letter by W.L. Taylor in 1912 for Ladies' Home Journal  Printed in the March, 1923 edition of Ladies' Home Journal (courtesy of the Meredith Corp. Publishing, and the Ladies’ Home Journal )
	Illustration by George Henry Boughton in 1881 for The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne by George Henry Boughton, an Anglo-American painter and illustrator, in 1881 (oil on canvas, 46" x 16") Description of painting from advertisement for the painting cut from a periodical (in the Hawthorne Graphics Collection, Peabody Essex Museum): Hester is revealed in his [Boughton's] imaginative recreation as a figure of dignity and strength who glows in the dark and brooding world of New England Puritanism around her....She stands patiently, her bag of needlework in hand, her eyes and composed features testifying to the inner strength which has sustained her through exposure on the public pillory and the continued obloquy of the townspeople....In the background a man and boy hurry through the cold night, their cloaks held to their mouths to protect them from both the frosty air and the evil vapors their imagination conceives as emanating from the scorned adulteress, yet with their eyes drawn furtively to her loveliness.  (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Elizabeth Pain Gravestone, 1704. The Elizabeth Pain gravestone, King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
	King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston The Elizabeth Pain gravestone is located in King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.  (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno)
	King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston The Elizabeth Pain gravestone is located in King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.  (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno)
	King's Chapel, Boston The Elizabeth Pain gravestone is located in King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.  (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno)
	King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston The Elizabeth Pain gravestone is located in King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.  (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno)
	Photograph of Una, Julian, and Rose, Hawthorne's children, c. 1862 Photograph by Silsbee and Case
	Publicity photograph from the 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter starring Lillian Gish as Hester Prynne and Lars Hanson as Arthur Dimmesdale The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjostrom)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Ree. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Hester on the Scaffold This image appears in the January 1991 edition of the Essex Institute Historical Collection, vol. 127, no. 1. It is a reprint of the illustration by Mary Hallock Foote from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by James R. Osgood. Dr. Rita Gollin, author of the article in the EIHCentitled "The Scarlet Letter" which features this image, notes that "[w]hile Foote was not the first to illustrate the novel, her portraits of Hester are unusual in their reality, dense detail, and centrality to the composition" (17). (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Fig. 2. "The Interview." Illustration by F.O.C. Darley. From The Scarlet Letter (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1892), opposite p. 96.  "Darley augments Hawthorne's text with such details as the chain on the wall and Hester's lavish dress." caption on image opposite p. 96. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Pearl and The Scarlet Letter Fig. 3. "Pearl and the Scarlet Letter". Wood engraving by George M. Richards. From "The Scarlet Letter" (New York: Macmillan, 1927). Sentimentally elaborating on Hawthorne's text. Richards presents a cozy room with a sampler on the wall, balls of yarn in a basket, and a hooked rug on the floor, in which a slender Hester with downcast eyes covers her scarlet letter while a smiling Pearl with flowers in both hands gracefully dances before her. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Mary Hollingsworth Sampler, Circa 1665 -1670. Mary Hollingsworth came from a wealthy merchant family. In 1673, she married Philip English, one of Salem's most influential and successful shipowners. In 1692 both Mary and Philip were accused of witchcraft. He and his wife escaped,however,only to be found and held in custody until they escaped again and found refuge in New York. They later returned to Salem when the witchcraft hysteria ended.
	Gloves, 1640-60 An example of the type of embroidery Hester would have done. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	The Ward House Great Room An interior typical of the room in which Hester Prynne met with the Governor and ministers.
	Roses in bloom in front of John Ward House that are typical of what would have appeared in front of buildings in Hester Prynne's time. The John Ward House is located on Brown St. opposite Howard, (originally at 38 St. Peter St.) and was built after 1684.  In December 1684 John Ward, a currier, purchased the land at 38 St. Peter St. and had a one-room-plan house with steep-pitched roof and overhang constructed. After his death in 1732, the house was enlarged. In 1910 the Essex Institute purchased the house, restored it, and moved it to its present location on Brown St. The house is open to visitors and offers a glimpse into life in 17th-century New England.
	John Ward House, Brown St. opposite Howard, (originally at 38 St. Peter St.) built after 1684 This is one of the best examples of 17th century wood-frame-and-and clapboard houses in New England. In December 1684 John Ward, a currier, purchased the land at 38 St. Peter St. and had a one-room-plan house with steep-pitched roof and overhang constructed. After his death in 1732, the house was enlarged. In 1910 the Essex Institute purchased the house, restored it, and moved it to its present location on Brown St. The house is open to visitors and offers a glimpse into life in 17th-century New England.
	Great Room in John Ward House This photograph of the Great Room in the John Ward House shows the beams and the low ceiling typical of a seventeenth century house. This is the type of room in which Hester Prynne would have met with the governor and ministers.
	The Great Room of the John Ward House This photograph shows the rope bed and diamond-case window in the Great Room of the John Ward House. The windows reflect the lattice pattern described of those in the Governor's hall as described by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter
	Swift in the Great Room of the John Ward House This was used to wind yarn from a spinning wheel. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Sideboard with pewterware in Great Room of John Ward House These furnishings in the John Ward House are typical of those that would have been found in the Governor's Hall and in the widow's house in which Dimmesdale and Chillingworth lived.
	The Lonesome Dwelling from chapter entitled "Hester at Her Needle" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (93)
	Hester in the House of Mourning from chapter entitled "Another View of Hester" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (185) (195)
	"Wilt thou yet forgive me?"from chapter entitled "The Pastor and His Parishoner" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (237)
	"Shall we not meet again?" from chapter entitled "The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston (311)
	Hester's Return from chapter entitled "The Conclusion" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston (320)
	Illustration entitled "Sooner or later he must needs be mine!" from frontispiece of The Scarlet Letter in volume containing The Scarlet Letter and The Blithedale Romance.  from volume V of the 1883 Standard Library edition of The Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne in fifteen volumes

Images of or Relating to Hester and Pearl

	Pearl and The Scarlet Letter Fig. 3. "Pearl and the Scarlet Letter". Wood engraving by George M. Richards. From "The Scarlet Letter" (New York: Macmillan, 1927). Sentimentally elaborating on Hawthorne's text. Richards presents a cozy room with a sampler on the wall, balls of yarn in a basket, and a hooked rug on the floor, in which a slender Hester with downcast eyes covers her scarlet letter while a smiling Pearl with flowers in both hands gracefully dances before her. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Publicity photograph from the 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter starring Lillian Gish as Hester Prynne and Lars Hanson as Arthur Dimmesdale The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjostrom)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Ree. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjostrom)  Starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Ree. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.  (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Pearl (Joyce Coad), Hester Prynne (Lillian Gish)and the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale (Lars Hanson)in the final scene of the silent version of The Scarlet Letter The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjostrom)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Ree. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.  (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Part of the cast and crew of the silent film version of The Scarlet Letter in 1926  Victor Seastrom,the Swedish director of the film,is seated on the ground in this photo taken of the cast in North Hollywood. Lillian Gish, star of this feature, is seated on his right, and on the other side is Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Ree. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.  (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	Hester on the Scaffold from the 1926 silent film version starring Lillian Gish/Watch The Scarlet Letter(1926) on TCM The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjostrom)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Ree. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.  (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	"She was led back to Prison" from chapter entitled "The Recognition" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (78)
	"The Eyes of the Wrinkled Scholar Glowed" from chapter entitled "The Interview" of The Scarlet Letter Chillingworth is called to prison cell as healer to aid Hester and her ailing Pearl in this illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letterpublished by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (87)
	Lonely Footsteps from chapter entitled "Hester at Her Needle" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (99)
	A Touch of Pearl's Baby-Hand from the chapter entitled "Pearl" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration of Hester and her baby Pearl from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (113)
	The Governor's Breastplate from chapter entitled "The Governor's Hall" of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (125)
	"Look thou to it! I will not lose the child!" from chapter entitled "The Elf-child and the Minister" of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (135)
	"They stood in the noon of that strange splendor" from chapter entitled "The Minister's Vigil" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (185)

Images of or Relating to Pearl

	Photograph of Una, Julian, and Rose, Hawthorne's children, c. 1862 Photograph by Silsbee and Case
	Photograph from a daguerreotype of Una and Julian Hawthorne, two of Nathaniel Hawthorne's three children Photograph from a daguerreotype of Una and Julian Hawthorne, two of Nathaniel Hawthorne's three children
	Pearl on the Sea-Shore from chapter entitled "Hester and Pearl" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (217)
	A Gleam of Sunshine from chapter entitled "A Flood of Sunshine" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from Chapter "A Flood of Sunshine" from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (249)
	The Child at the Brook-side from the chapter of the same name in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (257)
	Illustration of Pearl from p. 114, Chapter VI of The Scarlet Letterin volume containing The Scarlet Letter and The Blithedale Romance from volume V of the 1883 Standard Library edition of The Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne in fifteen volumes  (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA)
	The Scarlet Letter Illustration from Hawthorne's Works, Globe Edition, Houghton, Mifflin, and Co.,1880. (courtesy of Terri Whitney)

Original Hugh Thomson watercolors

	"Hawthorne in the Custom House"  Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition, p. 6) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"There dwelt, there trode, the feet of one" Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Children would creep nigh enough to behold her" Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Good Father Wilson was moving homeward" Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"A blazing spear...in the midnight sky" Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"It is our Hester..." Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"'So, reverend sir, you have made a visit to the forest,' observed the witch-lady" Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"They were rough-looking desperadoes" Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"With purpose to snatch a kiss"  Original watercolor illustrations by Hugh Thomson for The Scarlet Letter(1920 Methuen edition) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)

From The Scarlet Letter, 1920 edition, illustrated by Hugh Thomson

	Cover of The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920)  (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	Title page of The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920)  (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"The young woman stood fully revealed" Frontispiece from The Scarlet Letter with illustrations by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	Plate II, Adam and Eve, Derby Family Bible, Universal Bible, 1759 ed. Print of Adam and Eve as Their Disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden Brings Sin and Death into the World, the Original Sin Precipitating the Fall of All Humanity (courtesy of Salem Maritime National Historic Site)
	First page of list of illustrations by Hugh Thomson in The Scarlet Letter (Methuen 1920)  (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	Second page of list of illustrations by Hugh Thomson in The Scarlet Letter (Methuen 1920)  (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	Third page of list of illustrations by Hugh Thomson in The Scarlet Letter (Methuen 1920)  (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"I again seize the public by the button" Illustration for the Custom-House Introductory to The Scarlet Letterillustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Hawthorne in the Custom-House" from p.6 of The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	First page of Prison Door chapter in The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920)  (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Surveyor Pue and Hawthorne" from p. 36 of The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"'Goodwives,' said a hard- featured dame, 'I'll tell ye a piece of my mind'" p. 54 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"A crowd of eager and curious schoolboys" p. 58 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Illuminating...the dusky mirror" p. 62 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Hester seated herself on the bed" p. 80 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"There dwelt, there trode, the feet of one..." p. 86 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Children would creep nigh enough to behold her" p. 88 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Hester at her needle" p. 90 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"A young maiden glancing at the scarlet letter" p. 94 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"She saw the children disporting themselves" p. 102 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Governor Bellingham appeared to be showing off his Estate" p. 118 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Usually a vast favorite with children" p. 120 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Into the sunny day was thrust the face of Mistress Hibbins" p. 128 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Mr. Dimmesdale's flock" p. 132 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"A pious widow, of good social rank" p. 138 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"One day, leaning his forehead on his hand" p. 144 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"To such an unwonted remoteness" p. 152 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Good Father Wilson was moving homeward" p. 166 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"A blazing spear...in the midnight sky" p. 172 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"None so self-devoted as Hester" p. 178 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"'It is our Hester'" p. 180 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"She beheld the old physician in quest of roots and herbs" p. 186 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"The old dame in the chimney corner" p. 206 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"'What does this sad little brook say, mother?'" p. 208 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"She beheld the minister advancing" p. 210 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"'So, reverend Sir, you have made a visit into the forest,' observed the witch-lady" p. 248 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"They were rough-looking desperadoes" p. 260 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"With purpose to snatch a kiss" p. 274 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)
	"Hester at the foot of the scaffold" p. 276 from The Scarlet Letter illustrated by Hugh Thomson (Methuen 1920) (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)

Critical Commentary Related to Female Characters in The Scarlet Letter"

"Hester at her needle" (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)

Criticism Related to Hester Prynne In The Salem World of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Moore comments upon Hawthorne's sympathy toward and admiration of women, as shown in his treatment of Hester Prynne.    In her lecture "Hawthorne and 'the sphere of ordinary womanhood,'" Melinda Ponder considers the relationships with women from Hawthorne's personal life that influenced his treatment of female characters in fiction.    In "Hawthorne and 'the sphere of ordinary womanhood,'" Ponder also looks at the experiences of Hawthorne's mother and how they influenced his shaping of Hester's character.

• In her lecture "Work and Money in Hawthorne's Fiction," Claudia Johnson remarks on Hester's role as an artist and the guilt both she and Hawthorne feel from taking pleasure in their artistic creations. 
   
• In his lecture "The Meanings of Hawthorne's Women," Richard Millington suggests that Hawthorne's "heroic women," such as Hester Prynne, explore the possibility of an ethical life through both engagement with the community and challenges to its values.
   
• In the essay "Discord in Concord: National Politics and Literary Neighbors" in Hawthorne and Women, Claudia Durst Johnson draws connections between Hester Prynne and Christie Devon, the protagonist of Louisa May Alcott's novel Work. 
   
• In the essay "'Such a Hopeless Task Before Her: Some Observations on the Fiction of Hawthorne and Gilman" in Hawthorne and Women, Denise D. Knight links the author and feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman to Hawthorne's Hester Prynne. 
   
• In the essay " Bourgeois Sexuality and the Gothic Plot in Wharton and Hawthorne" in Hawthorne and Women, Monika Elbert links Hester Prynne to Gothic elements in The Scarlet Letter and explores how Hawthorne desexes Hester by making her "shadowlike" and ghostly.
   
• In an 1850 review of The Scarlet Letter in The Saturday Visiter (reprinted in Hawthorne and Women), Jane Swisshelm praises the character of Hester Prynne, highlighting her strength and her moral stature. 
   
• In another 1850 review of The Scarlet Letter that appeared in the Massachusetts Quarterly Review (reprinted in The Recognition of Nathaniel Hawthorne), George Bailey Loring also praises Hester's strength and her superiority to those around her.
   
• In Hawthorne: A Critical Study, Hyatt Waggoner explores the connections between Hester and the natural landscape. 
   
• Nina Baym, in her essay "Thwarted Nature: Nathaniel Hawthorne as Feminist" in American Novelists Revisited: Essays in Feminist Criticism, explores Hester's role as a mother and the way it empowers her and redefines her in the novel.

Criticism Related to Pearl

Excerpts from chapters from Understanding The Scarlet Letter: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents by Claudia Durst Johnson (courtesy of Greenwood Press)

• In "A Literary Analysis of The Scarlet Letter" (pp. 4-6, 8), Johnson explores how Pearl and her reactions to the scarlet letter clarify the meaning of the symbol. "Creativity, passion, and joy" as well as nature, truth and honesty are elements that embody the letter A as shown by Pearl's behavior, curiosity, and personality. Unlike Pearl, the elders of the community see the letter as "red and devilish." 
   
• In "A Literary Analysis of The Scarlet Letter" (pp. 17-19), Johnson indicates that Pearl recognizes Chillingworth's connection with Satan and that Pearl (despite her Satanical reputation) is not physical deformed like Chillingworth but beautiful. Johnson insists Pearl is not a daughter of Satan.
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter and the Puritans," "Crime and Punishment," and "Issues in the 1980's and the 1990's" (pp. 36-37, 76-77, 200-202), Johnson reveals how the powerful political and religious figures try to control where Hester and Pearl live and who should have custody of the child.
  
  
  
   
  • Johnson discusses in "Crime and Punishment" how Pearl is in defiance of the Puritanical laws which deny "mirth," "independent thinking," and "sexuality."
     
  • In "Issues in the 1980's and 1990's," Johnson indicates that contrary to what powerful Puritanical authorities believe that Pearl "saves Hester from abandoning herself to the darkest elements of human nature." 
     
  • Also in "Issues in the 1980's and 1990's," Johnson also cites several recent custody cases that show how today's courts still decide on who is the most fit custodian of a child.
  
   
• In "Anne Hutchinson and Hester Prynne" (p. 93) Johnson connects "how both women are accused of delivering children fathered by the devil."
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter and the Puritans" (pp.39-40) Johnson describes how Hester and Pearl are always outside civilization on the edge of the wilderness and how this causes Pearl to be wild and "uncontrollable."

Excerpts from chapters from Student Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne by Melissa McFarland Pennell (courtesy of Greenwood Press)

• In "Hawthorne's Career and Contributions" (p. 21) Pennell describes how critics have connected Hester and Pearl to Sethe and Denver in Toni Morrison's novel Beloved, with significant differences. All four live as outcasts, and both children are "a source of pain and comfort" to their mothers. 
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter" (p. 74) Pennell contrasts Hester's drab outfits with Pearl's blood red clothes, suggesting that Pearl "is a living version of the letter." Like Johnson, Pennell demonstrates how the "A" has multiple interpretations. 
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter" (pp. 77-78) Pennell paints a portrait of Pearl, "the most complex character of the romance." She highlights Pearl's name, her supposed connection to Satan, her spontaneity and mischievousness, and her isolation and truthfulness, both disconnecting her from the Puritan values and community. 
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter" (p. 82) Pennell explains how thematically Nature plays a complex role in The Scarlet Letter; specifically, Pennell shows nature both as comfort to lonely Pearl and a reflection or mirror of Pearl's untamed, "heathen" spirit.
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter" (p. 83) Pennell, like Johnson (above) explores Pearl's symbolic relationship to and fascination with the letter A, whether it is scarlet or a natural green. 
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter" (pp. 85-86)) Pennell explores feminist criticism of the The Scarlet Letter as it relates to the propriety of Hester's custody of Pearl, which is challenged in the scene at the governor's mansion. Pennell reveals an enduring relationship between Hester and Pearl. Hester can openly love her daughter and find purpose in her life through raising her daughter. Pearl finds a strong role model in her mother. 
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter" (p. 72-73) Pennell shows how Hawthorne casts Pearl in the role of forcing Hester and Dimmesdale to face the reality of their situation as they taste freedom in the forest scene. In the second scaffold scene Pearl confronts Dimmesdale, saying, "Thou wast not true." In the final scaffold scene, Dimmesdale publicly acknowledges Hester and Pearl while confiding that their sufferings "served God's purpose."
   
• In "The Scarlet Letter" (p. 80) Pennell demonstrates how Dimmesdale relates to Pearl as a minister not a father.

Excerpts from Hawthorne and Women: Engendering and Expanding the Hawthorne Traditionedited by John L. Idol, Jr. and Melinda M. Ponder (courtesy of University of Massachusetts Press)

• Jane Swisshelm, in her review of The Scarlet Letter published in The Saturday Visiter in 1850 (pp. 289-291), describes Pearl as "a wild, fitful, impulsive little sprite" (289) who is obsessively attracted to Hester's scarlet letter and cruelly shunned by the contemptuous Puritans.
   
• Swisshelm summarizes the final scaffold scene and Pearl's future in a former land (289-290).
   
• Finally, Swisshelm mocks Hawthorne's suggestion that Pearl was sent to punish her sinning mother. She suggests Hester deserves all respect while "it would scarce be worth while throwing a mud-ball at the best of [the other characters]" (290-291).

Websites Related to Women in The Scarlet Letter

"Hester at her needle" (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)

Religion, Women, and the Family in Early America, National Humanities Center

Lectures and Articles Related to Women inThe Scarlet Letter

"Hester at her needle" (courtesy of Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Maine)

"The Meanings of Hawthorne's Women," lecture delivered by Dr. Richard Millington, Smith College: at The House of the Seven Gables Historic Site on September 8, 2000.

"To Be My Own Human Child: Parenting and Romance,"paper delivered by Dr. Karen Sanchez-Eppler, Professor of American Studies and English, Amherst College, Amherst, MA,at the American Literature Association Conference on May 24, 2003.

"Subverting the Subversive: Hawthorne’s Containment of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter," paper by Dr. Melissa Pennell ,University of Massachusetts, Lowell, delivered at Salem State College on March 10, 2004.

"Symbol and Interpretation in The Scarlet Letter," paper by Dr. Stephanie Carrez, delivered at the conference of the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society, celebrating the Hawthorne bicentennial in Salem, MA, July 1-4, 2004.

"Passions of Hawthorne's New Eve: Female Desire in The Scarlet Letter," paper delivered by Dr. David Greven, Assistant Professor of English, Connecticut College, New London, CT, at the American Literature Association Conference in 2006.