Chapter 1- The Prison Door
Hester recognizes a rose bush outside the prison door, and it reminds her of nature’s kindness. The narrator provides to tell us no matter how peaceful the Puritan people seem to be the first thing that they instruct to build is a prison. The rose bush shows her that there is still good that is out there and it shows the sympathy to those who have been jailed. The rose bush provides her with some relief while she is forced to live in this prison.
Chapter 2- The Market-Place
Hester Prynne, holding the infant in her arms, walks out of the prison door and makes her way to the scaffolding to be publicly condemned. We figure out through the voices of the people in the crowd that Hester has been sworn to wear the embroidered “A” on her chest, which we find out stands for “Adulterer”. As she stands on the scaffolding memories of her past circulate through her thoughts, such as her husband who she followed to Europe. The thing that she has to face is the reality that has been set before her.
Chapter 3- The Recognition
As Hester is standing on the top of the scaffolding she spots her husband that she followed to Europe in the crowd. Hester gesture toward her husband that she will not reveal his identity. Hester's husband asks a stranger about the crime and punishment, explaining how he was captured by Native Americans and just arrived in Boston. The stranger explains that Hester has been condemned for baring a baby under adulterer and will not revel the identity of the father. Stranger says that Hester has been sentenced for three hours on the scaffold and forced to where the scarlet letter on her chest for a lifetime. the Narrator then introduces the reader to the town fathers who will be the judges that stand before Hester Prynne. Dimmesdale, young minister, demands that Hester revel the identity of the father, but Hester refuses and he does not press her any further. At the Conclusion of the sermon, Hester is taken back into the prison.
Chapter 4- The Interview
Hester and her husband come face to face for the first time and it revels that her husband is in fact Roger Chillingworth. Chillingworth gives Hester some medicine, but Hester refuses because she believes that he is trying to poison her. Chillingworth explains that assures her that he wants her to live so then he can have his revenge. Chillingworth urges her to give away the identity of the father, and if she does not he will find the sympathy in her that will lead him to the man. When she refuses to revel the secret he demands that she keep his identity a secret too. The actions that Chillingworth displays makes Hester believe that he is the "Black Man" -the devil in disguise sent to try and get her to write her name down in his black book. Chillingworth tells Hester that he is going to go and seek out her unknown lover and have his revenge.
Chapter 5- Hester at Her Needle
After a Few months Hester is free from prison and free to leave Boston, but she chooses to stay there. She finds and settles in an abandoned cabin on a fertile patch of land at the edge of the town. She still remains an outcast to everyone of the town and serves as an example of a fallen woman. Hester is able to support herself due to her exceptional talent at weaving, which is fit to be worn by the highest of the town, despite her shamefulness. Through this time Hester feels an increase in alienation, and in such searches for compassion and sympathy and finding none. Hester devotes her time to charity, but even then she is insulted by the very people that she is trying to help.
Chapter 6- Pearl
Hester's child is described in great detail in this chapter and it discusses how Pearl got her name. She was named pearl because she was purchased with all her mother had, which was her mother's greatest treasure. Pearls being has been at odds with the very strictness of the laws of the Puritan society. Hester notices how little Pearl has gotten all of her traits, such as defiance, moodiness, and passion. The narrator continually shares that Pearl is an outcast and how she has been deemed an alien by the other kids, who suspect that there is something wrong with pearl and her mother. Pearl, knowing that she is alone, creates casts of imaginary friends to keep her company. Hester becomes frustrated that at Pearl because she continually plays with the scarlet letter, and in frustration yells out "Child what art thou". Pearl responds by asking about her origins to which Hester thinks is impressive for Pearl, seeing that she is so young. Hester starts to think that maybe she is not the demon-child that the whole town believes she is.
Chapter 7- The Governor's Hall
Hester Pays a visit to the Governors office, with two intentions: to deliver a pair f gloves that he had her make and to find out if the rumors are true, that they are going to take Pearl away from Hester. Towns people believe that Pearl is a demon-child and should be taken away from Hester for her own safety. If Pearl is in fact just a normal child then she should be taken away because Hester is unfit to be a proper mother. As Hester and Pearl are walking to meet the governor, they are attacked by a bunch of kids that start to fling mud at them. Pearl become upset and frightens the children off. Once inside the governor's office they realize how the style is very English aristocracy. Pearl then starts to cry because she wants a rose from the rose bush outside, but is soon quieted by a bunch of men that walk in.
Chapter 8- The Elf-Child and The Minister
Bellingham, Wilson, Chillingworth, and Dimmesdale enter the room and begin by teasing Pearl by calling her a bird and a demon-child. the They ask why Hester should be allowed to keep the child. Hester believes that she can teach Pearl a valuable lesson, a lesson that she has found out through her shame. Dimmesdale responds by saying that God has brought the child for a reason, and that it is both a blessing and a curse. Due to Dimmesdale's response Bellingham and Wilson do not separate Pearl and Hester. Pearl has taken very kindly to Mr.Dimmesdale and most likely because she fells that Hester has been successful. Chillingworth urges the men to reopen the case of searching for Hester's secret lover, but they refuse. As Hester and Pearl are leaving Mistress Hibbins pokes her head out over her window and invites Hester to a witches' gathering. Hester replies by saying that she would have if Pearl was taken away from her. the Narrator makes a careful note that Pearl has actually steered Hester away from the temptations of the devil.
Chapter 9- The Leech
Chillingworth has hidden his past from everyone, except Hester Prynne who he has sworn to secrecy. Chillingworth has become the doctor of the Town. This town has been in great need of medical assistance and expertise, so they were very grateful when Chillingworth agreed to be the new doctor of the town. Some people of the town refer to the Doctor as a "leech" because of the practice of doctors using a leech to suck out the "diseased blood". Dimmesdale is suffering from severe health problems which is very concerning to the towns people. Dimmesdale frequently clutches his heart, most of the towns people believe that it is because he turns down every woman that throws themselves at him. Chillingworth demands that Dimmesdale stays with him so then he can watch his symptoms and possible cure him. The two man take rooms next to the cemetery in a widow's home. Dimmesdale's room is decorated with tapestries that depict biblical scenes about adultery and its punishment, while Chillingworth's room contains a laboratory that is very advanced for its time. The town's people begin rumors about Chillingworth's past. The narrator depicts that Chillingworth's face has taken on a look of evil. A majority of the towns people begin to think that Chillingworth is the Devil, come to wage battle against Dimmesdale's soul.
Chapter 10- The Leech and His Patient
Chillingworth makes it his greatest priority to try and cure Dimmesdale of his condition. Chillingworth shows great persistence in knowing ever bit of Dimmesdale's life, which makes Dimmesdale extremely paranoid. Dimmesdale has grown suspicious of all men. Dimmesdale and Chillingworth enter into an uncomfortable conversation about confession, redemption, and the notion of "burying" ones secrets. As they are talking they hear a cry come from outside, it is little Pearl stuffing flowers into Hester's Scarlet Letter. Once Pearl sees the two men she demands that her and Hester leave because the "Black Man" has already captured the minister. Chillingworth makes a comment saying that Hester does not have buried sins because she wears them openly on her chest. Dimmesdale tries to make sure not to show any intimacy towards Hester, and tries to stay away from the topic of "buried" sin. Chillingworth asks about Dimmesdale's spiritual condition, he believes that it could be the reason for his condition. Dimmesdale grows tempered with his persistent questions and leaves the room. Dimmesdale later apologizes for his outburst, but Chillingworth is still suspicious. Later that night Chillingworth sneaks into Dimmesdale's room and lifts up the shirt he is wearing, he is shocked by what he finds, but the reader is left in the dark about what he finds.
Chapter 11- The Interior of a Heart
Chillingworth continues to play mind games with the minister, but Dimmesdale pays not attention because he can fined no rational reason for it. Dimmesdale's struggles allows him to empathize with human weakness, although he greatly wants to reveal his sins, but cannot bring himself to do so. Since Dimmesdale will not confess his sin he starts to have visions about his sins.Dimmesdale has one vision that tells how Hester pointed at her Scarlet Letter on her bosom and then points at the clergyman. The minister understands that he is delusional, but not even the Bible helps him with his problem. Unable to get rid of his sins he starts to believe that the whole universe is fake and false. Dimmesdale begins to torture himself physically and mentally: he scourges himself with a whip, fasts, and spends endless nights meditating about his sin. Dimmesdale has a revelation of an idea that will release him of his sins. He decides to hold a vigil on the scaffold where, years before, Hester suffered for her sin.
Chapter 12- The Minister's Vigil
Dimmesdale amounts the scaffold and lets out a loud cry because of his chest pain. Nobody ends up noticing Dimmesdale on the scaffold, the minister starts to wonder what it would be like if the whole town saw their minister in the place where shame is given. Dimmesdale laughs and hears Pearl which he had not noticed. Hester and Pearl were walking from Winthrop's funeral because she sewed the governors burial robe. Hester and Pearl stand on the scaffold with Dimmesdale and he says how much warmth he feels radiating from Hester and Pearl. Pearl asks if he will stand with them tomorrow on the scaffold, to which he answers not until the Judgement Day. Suddenly a meteor brightens the sky and Dimmesdale points out and "A"engraved in the sky. Pearl points to a dark figure standing in the distance staring at them, it is Chillingworth. Dimmesdale then asks who Chillingworth really is and Hester responds by not being able to reveal his identity. Chillingworth responds to Dimmesdale by saying that he was probably sleep walking and walked onto the scaffold. After the best sermon that the minister has ever given, the church sexton hands Dimmesdale a black glove that was found on the scaffolding. The sexton recognizes the glove as Dimmesdale's, but he says that the only way that the glove could be up there is by the Devil's mischief. The sexton starts talking about how the meteor was falling and the letter "A" was made in the sky, but it has no reference to Dimmesdale or Hester. Instead they say that the "A" means that governor Winthrop has ascended into heaven.
Chapter 13- Another View of Hester
Pearl is now seven years old, and Hester has become more ingrained in the society such as giving food to the poor, nursing the sick, and many other things. She is still frequently subject to scorn through out the town, but people have started to see the letter "A" as standing for "Able" instead of "Adulterer" . Hester herself has also changed: she has changed from passionate and tender woman to being burned by the "red-hot brand" of the letter, making her into " a bare and harsh outline" of her former self. Hester starts to think about what it means to be a woman in her society, she also starts thinking if she is causing harm to Dimmesdale by keeping Chillingworth identity a secret.
Chapter 14- Hester and the Physician
Hester encounters Chillingworth gathering herbs, Chillingworth replies by saying because of Hester's good deeds the council is considering removing the Scarlet Letter from her breast. Hester says that no normal human can remove it from her only someone of divine power can remove it when it is time. Hester informs Chillingworth that she believes it is time to reveal his identity into Dimmesdale. This is when Chillingworth realizes that Dimmesdale is Hester's secret lover and Hester is aware of his knowledge. A change comes over Chillingworth's face and the narrator describes Chillingworth as the very embodiment of evil. He has know changed from a human being in to a vengeful fiend, who has lost his"human heart". Chillingworth insists that his revenge and Hester's silence are their "fate".
Chapter 15- Hester and Pearl
Hester realizes, that although it is a sin to do so, hates her husband. Pearl is down by the beach playing in the water, when she finds some eel-grass and puts it onto her chest in the shape as the letter "A", one that is "freshly green instead of scarlet". Hester asks Pearl if she knows the meaning of the letter, and they proceed to discuss the meaning of the Scarlet Letter. Pearl connects the letter to Dimmesdale's frequent habit of clasping his chest, and Hester is unnerved by her perceptiveness. Hester decides that she s to young to know the truth and decides not to explain the significance of the letter to her. Pearl is persistent and continually hounds her about the meaning of the Scarlet letter and the frequent clutching of the Minister's chest.
Chapter 16- A Forest Walk
Hester is intent on revealing Chillingworth's identity to Dimmesdale, so she waits for him in the forest. Pearl finds the sunshine and baths herself in the light, however the sunshine seems to shun Hester in the forest. As they are waiting for Dimmesdale Pearl asks Hester to tell her about the "Black Man" and his connection to the Scarlet Letter. Pearl has heard of people talking about the midnight excursions of Mistress Hibbins and she mentioned the the Scarlet Letter is the mark of the "Black Man". Dimmesdale approaches and Pearl wonders if he is the "Black Man", but Hester tells her to run along and play. Pearl does not leave with out saying aloud if the Minister clutches his heart because the "Black Man" has left a mark there too.
Chapter 17- The Pastor and His Parishioner
Dimmmesdale and Hester are finally able to be alone in the forest, where Hester finally tells Dimmesdale that Chillingworth is her husband. The news causes a "dark transfiguration" in Dimmesdale and he begins to condemn Hester, blaming her for his suffering. Hester, cannot handle his yelling and distress, pulls him into her chest, pulling him down into the Scarlet Letter. Dimmesdale forgives her eventually, saying that Chillingworth is a bigger sinner than either of them. Dimmesdale now knows that Chillingworth will eventually have his revenge and reveal Dimmesdale and Hester to the public. They plot to run away to Europe with Pearl where they can be a family.
Chapter 18- A Flood of Sunshine
The idea of fleeing to Europe energizes both of Hester and Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale decalares that he can feel joy once again, and Hester throughs the Scarlet Letter from her Chest. Hester starts to regain her former, passionate beauty, and she lets down her hair and smiles. The sunlight, which Pearl pointed out stayed away from her mother, is now gleaming itself over the Scarlet Letter. Pearl introduce Dimmesdale as her father, and Hester is ecstatic that her daughter will know a father.
Chapter 19- The Child at the Brook-Side
Dimmesdale and Peal call to Pearl, Pearl eyes her parents suspiciously. Pearl refuses to come to Hester, she points at the empty spot on her breast where the Scarlet Letter used to be. Hester has to pin the Scarlet Letter back onto her chest, effecting her transformation back to her old, sad self before Pearl would come to her. Hester encourages Pearl to embrace the minister, although she does not tell her that the minister is her father. Pearl asks if they will walk into the town holding hands like a family, but Dimmesdale will not. Pearl runs to the water brook and tries and to wash the kiss from the minister off her forehead.
Chapter 20- The Minister in a Maze
Dimmesdale is happy, due to the fact that he and Hester have decided to travel to Europe, which he believes will be better for is health. Hester, through her work with charity, knows a group of sailors that will be leaving for England in just four days. Dimmesdale feels that the things that he used to find familiar, including himself, seem strange. As the minister is walking through the town he starts to have the urge to utter blasphemous statements. Dimmesdale runs into Mistress Hibbins who tells him that next time he goes into the woods he may need a guide. Dimmesdale realizes, later, that he believes that he has just made an appointment with Mistress Hibbins' master, the Devil. Once Dimmesdale returns to Chillingworth he explains to him that he has a no longer need for his drugs. In light of his new view on humanity, he now throws his former manuscipt in the fire and writes a newer and better sermon.
Chapter 21- The New England Holiday
Mimicking the beginning of the novel, the narrator describes another public marketplace. As they wait in the marketplace among an assorted group of townsfolk, Native Americans, and sailors from the ship that is to take Hester and Dimmesdale to Europe, Pearl asks Hester whether the strange minister who does not want to acknowledge them in public will hold out his hands to her as he did at the brook. Hester begins to lose herself in her thoughts and starts to imagine herself defiantly escaping from her long years of dreariness and isolation. Later a sailor informs her that Chillingworth will be going on the voyage to England with them, because the ship needs a medic and Chillingworth said that he was apart of their party. Hester looks up to see Chillingworth at the other end of the marketplace, smirking at her.
Chapter 22- The Procession
A company of armed forces is followed by the town's fathers, whose characters are displayed prominently. Hester is disheartened to see the richness and power of Puritan tradition displayed with such pomp. People notice that Dimmesdale seems more energetic then he has in a long time. Hester begins to become sad because of Dimmesdale's apparent vigor, this makes him seem remote. Hester begins to question the wisdom of their plan. Mistress Hibbins begins to talk to Hester about Dimmesdale. Saying that she knows those who serve the Black Man, Mistress Hibbins refers to what she calls the Minster's "mark" and declares that it will soon, like Hester's, be plain to all. Suggesting that the Devil is Pearl’s real father, Mistress Hibbins invites the child to go on a witch’s ride with her at some point in the future. The narrator interrupts his narration of the celebration to note that Mistress Hibbins will soon be executed as a witch. Pearl, who has been wandering around the marketplace, returns to Hester with a message from the ships master that Chillingworth will make the arrangement for bringing Dimmesdale on board, so Hester just has to attend only her and Pearl. While she is worrying about this new development, she suddenly realizes that everyone around her is staring at her.
Chapter 23- The Revelation
Dimmesdale has proclaimed that the people of New England will be chosen by God, and the crowd is understandably moved by the sermon. As the towns people move toward the town hall for the evening feast, Dimmesdale sees Hester and hesitates. Turning toward the scaffold, he calls to Hester and Pearl to join him. Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold with Hester and Pearl. He declares that God has led him there. Dimmesdale leans on Hester for support and begins his confession, calling himself “the one sinner of the world.” After he concludes, he stands upright without Hester’s help and tells everyone to see that he, like Hester, has a red stigma. Tearing away his ministerial garments from his breast, Dimmesdale reveals what we take to be some sort of mark—the narrator demurs, saying that it would be “irreverent to describe [the] revelation”—and then sinks onto the scaffold. Pearl finally bestows on Dimmesdale the kiss she has withheld from him. Hester asks him whether they will spend their afterlives together, and he responds that God will decide whether they will receive any further punishment for breaking His sacred law. The minister bids her farewell and dies.
Chapter 24- Conclusion
The book’s narrator discusses the events that followed Dimmesdale’s death and reports on the fates of the other major characters. Apparently, those who witnessed the minister’s death cannot agree upon what exactly it was that they saw. Most say they saw on his chest a scarlet letter exactly like Hester’s. They believe that the Scarlet Letter was brought upon by Chillingworth's poisonous magic and torture. Others say they saw nothing on his chest and that Dimmesdale’s “revelation” was simply that any man, however holy or powerful, can be as guilty of sin as Hester. Chillingworth wastes away and dies within a year of the minister’s passing, leaving a sizable inheritance to Pearl. Then, shortly after Chillingworth’s death, Hester and Pearl disappear. In their absence, the story of the scarlet letter grows into a legend. The story proves so compelling that the town preserves the scaffold and Hester’s cottage as material testaments to it. Many years later, Hester suddenly returns alone to live in the cottage and resumes her charity work. By the time of her death, the “A,” which she still wears, has lost any stigma it may have had. Hester is buried in the King’s Chapel graveyard, which is the burial ground for Puritan patriarchs. Hester and Dimmesdale share a headstone. It bears a symbol that the narrator feels appropriately sums up the whole of the narrative: a scarlet letter “A” on a black background.