"The child probably overheard their voices; for, looking up to the window, with a bright, but naughty smile of mirth and intelligence, she threw one of the prickly burrs at the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. The sensitive clergyman shurnk, with nervous dread from the light missile. Detecting his emotion, Pearl clapped her little hands in the most extravagant ecstacy. Hester Prynne, likewise, had involuntarily looked up; and all these four persons, old and young, regarded one another in silence, till the child laugh aloud..." ((Chapter 10/PAGE 117))
The 2nd scaffold scene?!?!?
All four main characters are in this scene and we are faced with the same placement as the first.
The shameful ones that are to looked down upon forever are placed at the bottom:
1st Scene: 2nd Scene:
-Platform -The path near the Church (Ground)
(Hester and Pearl) (Hester and Pearl)
And the people who are elevated are those who are in power, revered throughout the community as pure men who hold positions of power.
1st Scene: 2nd Scene:
-Balcony -Church Window
(Governor, Arthur, and Wilson) (Chillingworth and Arthur)
I noticed the missing of a character. The balcony had 3 magistrates on it, and the 2nd only having two men. There's not much of a pattern here, however, I'm going to assume that the final 'scaffold scene' will only place one man in the raised platform, be it Arthur or Chillingworth. (More likely Chillingworth due to the hinting death that Arthur is going to suffer.)
There is a noticeable lack of public shame from the citizens of the Puritan town, but it isn't entirely missing. Oddly enough, it is those who are higher above that feel the shame. The pain is felt by Arthur and Chillingworth, who see the woman they love. For Arthur, it pains him to see that she is shunned by the community and that because of this, his child Pearl has in turn morphed into an imp! For Chillingworth, he is seeing the woman that was the only joy in his life being separated from society. This doesn't hit him as hard, but the only joy in his life gone and developing into the scum of the Earth, leads him down a spiteful journey in life that can only be cured by watching the others around him suffer. It is a sad life for Chillingworth to have to pain those who have wronged him in order to feel retribution.
Finally, there is one more hint to add to Chillingworth's suspicion, when Pearl sees her father in the window, she immediately smiles and playfully throws and spiky thorn at him. She is a little deviant, but she is trying to show affection. Moreover, she quickly moves her gaze from her father to the man standing next to him, and in the next paragraph she shouts, "Come away, or yonder Black Man will catch you! He has got hold of the minister already." This, serves well as a contrast between the two characters and their Pearl's disposition towards both of them, it also suggests that Chillingworth already has Arthur's soul/fate in his possession.
Airk - good entry. Note, this isn't the 2nd scaffold scene, though the main characters are all present (and this is important - it also happened at the Governor's mansion), and this could be look at for mean. The 2nd scaffold scene happens in chapter 12 (1/2 of 24) and it is on the platform (the scaffold).
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