To begin chapter 4, Hester returns to the prison and Master Brackett sends a physician in to check on her. At least Hester is safe from the nasty looks and rude gossip of the outside crowd. Yes, that's what I thought until Roger Chillingworth is revealed to be the doctor. "For Hester Prynne had immediately become as still as death, although the child continued to moan"(Hawthorne 68). At this point, Hester is frozen in fear.Talk about seeing a ghost. Hester hasn't seen this man in years and he's her husband! To make matters even worse, the baby she's holding isn't even his. Chillingworth offers her medicine, but she declines with the mindset that it might be poison. Props to Hester's mom for teaching her to never take things from strangers. Chillingworth explains to her that the medicine is a potent for good. Maybe he really is trying to help her. On the other hand he could just want her to keep living so he can exact his revenge on her in the future, but what are the chances of that happening. All I know is that if my wife had a child with another man, I wouldn't be all buddy-buddy with her. Chillingworth continues to press her for the name of the baby's father, but she will not give up any information. "There are none in this land that know me. Breathe not, to any human soul, that thou didst ever call me husband" (Hawthorne 73). Now here I have to agree with him. I wouldn't want to be known as the guy whose wife had a child with another man.
Continuing, chapter 5 starts off with Hester being released from prison after a few months. She decides to live on the outskirts of town, which is good for her because she won't have to deal with "haters". She is able to support herself due to her uncommon talent in needlework. You got to do, what you got to do right? This chapter basically focuses on her super exciting life of needle work. At the end she starts to feel lonely and starts to think about what she has done. She finally starts to feel ashamed about her wrong doing.
Furthermore, chapter 6 points out Pearl's innocence in this whole situation. Pearl isn't judgmental of Hester mostly because she is young and has no idea of the things Hester has done. As Pearl gets older and realizes what her mother has done she will look at herself and her mother differently. How would you feel if you found out that you are the product of adultery? The other option is that Pearl will magically forgive her mother and they will live happily ever after, but if I'm being honest, that's not going to happen. Pearl will most likely have some amount of resentment towards Hester.
All in all, in chapter 7 Hester is headed to Governor Bellingham's mansion to give him a pair of gloves that she embroidered and she wants to find out if the rumors of Pearl being taken away from her are true. Being that the people see Pearl as a demon-child, they could want to take her away for Hester's sake. Or if Pearl is a human baby, they could take her away so that she has a more fit parent. While making their way into town, local children start to berate and fling mud at them. Pearl scares them away which shows that she could develop into a brave and fearless person. Towards the end, Pearl sees a rosebush and begins to cry and scream for a rose. Going back to the first chapter with the lone rosebush being mentioned, this act could have a symbolic meaning. It could also be a mere coincidence. I'm sure all will be revealed in the chapters to come.
Bernard, you have some good questions/comments, but this entry is a little too heavy on plot summary. I don't need to review what happened in the chapters - I want to read your thought process as you are reading. What questions are coming to mind? What connections are you making?
ReplyDeleteSorry about all the plot detail, I promise the next blog will be just my thoughts :). I want to know what Chillingworth has in store for Hester. I want to know what is making Pearl act out. Last, I feel like Hester is letting Pearl act out because she feels Pearl is a punishment from God and she is okay with it because she will not go against God. I feel like most of Hester's decisions are based on what she believes God has planned for her.
DeleteIt makes me really upset that Hester is now starting to feel ashamed for what she has done, and feel like it is part of the reason that her relationship with Pearl will go downhill when she gets older. Children, no matter how young they are, can sense how they're parents are feeling, if they're upset, happy, mad, etc. Pearl probably senses something is off, also considering the fact that they don't live in town. Hester her treatment like a child and cares for her, but in the sense that its not her child and she's just babysitting. This could Definitely lead to resentment in the future from Pearl.
ReplyDeleteTo start, I really enjoyed the reference you made to "Hester's mom raising her right" :) anyway, I do agree with you that Pearl will resent her mother to an extent, but i also think that because of how everyone treats the both of them, they might become closer as Pearl gets over. I also thought your connection between Pearl wanting a rose and the description of the rosebush from chapter one was insightful.
ReplyDeletegood comments!
ReplyDelete