Chapter X: "The Leech And His Patient"

     Roger Chillingworth, the physician, and Arthur Dimmesdale, the patient, have a long talk in Roger's laboratory about Arthur's poor health. The doctor questions Arthur as to whether or not everything has been told him about the case - whether or not Arthur has omitted something of importance about himself. The minister grows angry and leaves. Eventually the two become friends again.

     This chapter is a continuation of the preceding chapter, with the exception that both the minister and his physician engage in dialogue, whereas in the preceding chapter there was almost no dialogue. Chillingworth digs into Dimmesdale's heart "like a miner searching for gold." During the conversation between the two he learns of many things concerning Dimmesdale's thoughts: his hopes for mankind; his love of souls; his pureness of sentiment; and his natural holiness. And yet with all this, Chillingworth feels intuitively that Dimmesdale is hiding something from him. It is strange that the minister does not suspect his doctor of being more curious than he should be. One day, in Chillingworth's laboratory, the two men fall into a casual conversation about some dark, flabby herbs which Dimmesdale has recently gathered. Very pointedly the physician says that the herbs were found growing on a grave-in fact, they probably have grown "out of" the heart of a dead man, representing "some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had done better to confess during his lifetime." (The physician is casting out a strong hint, encouraging the minister to talk about himself.) Dimmesdale replies that possibly the dead man desired "to confess," but he could not do so. He continues by saying that at the Judgment Day the man will confess "with a joy unutterable." Chillingworth says that the guilty one might achieve "solace," or relief, now. Why should he wait? Dimmesdale agrees in theory with the "leech," as he remembers watching "relief" on the faces of many people who had confessed their sins to him before their deaths. He goes on to explain (in one of the key passages of the book) that some sinners "shrink from displaying themselves black and filthy in the view of man." He explains that confession of past evil might make it impossible for them to continue serving "their fellow-creatures." Thus, these unhappy sinners daily walk around "looking pure as new-fallen snow while their hearts are all speckled and spotted" with sin. Chillingworth vigorously answers that a "false show" cannot be better "than God's own truth." Dimmesdale says that this is possibly very true, and then he changes the subject to his own state of health. At this time the two men hear the "clear, wild laughter" of a young child's voice, coming from the burial-ground next door. They see Pearl dancing from one grave to another. In answer to her mother's demand that she behave, Pearl takes some prickly burrs from a burdock and then arranges them "along the lines of the scarlet letter" on her mother's bosom. Chillingworth remarks that there is "no law ...... mixed up with that child's composition." Dimmesdale thoughtfully answers that the child enjoys "the freedom of a broken law." Overhearing the conversation, Pearl throws one of the prickly burrs at Dimmesdale. He shrinks back. Pearl claps her hands in childish ecstasy. (This is a dramatic moment, for the four main characters of the book look at each other in silence. Seldom are all four characters on the scene at the same time.) Pearl breaks the spell by urging her mother to come away, or else "yonder old Black Man" might catch her. The child adds that the Black Man has "got hold of the minister already." (Note how the intuition of the small child allows her to sense the true situation existing between the two men.) The mother and child leave, as Chillingworth questions whether or not Hester Prynne is "less miserable" because she wears the scarlet letter for all to see. Speaking of himself, Chillingworth says that to show one's pain is better "than to cover it all up in his heart." At this point Chillingworth bluntly asks Dimmesdale if the sick minister has told his physician everything that might concern his case. Dimmesdale says all has been told. Chillingworth declares that sometimes a "bodily disease" may be only a "symptom" of a spiritual ailment. He then asks if the minister cares to "lay open to him the wound or trouble" in his soul. Dramatically Dimmesdale cries out: "No! - not to thee! - not to an earthly physician!" He says he will assign himself to his God. Then he leaves, angry. Chillingworth watches his friend leave, remarking to himself that Dimmesdale is capable of sudden and unusual "passion." He then speculates that very likely the minister has before this time "done a wild thing . . . in the passion of his heart." Eventually, the two men become friends again. One day, Chillingworth walks quietly into his friend's apartment. He finds Dimmesdale fast asleep. Advancing to his patient, the doctor removes the "vestment" that covers the top of the sleeping man's chest. Chillingworth stares and stares - then he turns away. The doctor's face reflects "wonder, joy, and horror . . . rapture." He throws his arms into the air; he stamps his feet on the floor. In his ecstasy, he resembles Satan.

This chapter, filled with dialogue, contains the following points:

• Chillingworth has been digging into Dimmesdale's heart through conversation, much as a miner digs into the earth. He finds many wonderful thoughts, but he does not uncover anything that positively states that the young minister is Hester's lover.
• Chillingworth tries to get Dimmesdale to confess, by drawing a parallel with the case of a man who did not confess his earthly sins and who had "ugly weeds' growing from his heart "in remembrance" of his sins.
• Dimmesdale discusses how wonderful confession is, for it relieves a sinner's conscience. He adds that some men cannot confess their sins, for then they might lose their chances for doing good for man in the future, because of their public disgrace.
• Hester and Pearl walk in the neighboring graveyard. Pearl skips from grave to grave, throws a prickly burdock burr at Dimmesdale, and tells her mother to come away from the "Black Man" (Chillingworth), for she says her mother might be caught by Chillingworth as the minister is already.
• Chillingworth tells Dimmesdale to relieve his soul by telling him (the "leech") of his inner troubles. The minister says "No!" Then he rushes away.
• Chillingworth walks quietly into Dimmesdale's room when the minister is asleep in a chair. The doctor pushes aside the covering of the sleeping minister's chest and feasts his eyes on what might be a self-inflicted wound - a letter "A"!

Chapter XI: "The Interior Of A Heart"

     Roger Chillingworth becomes the source of much torture to Arthur Dimmesdale, although the sickly minister does not quite realize he is being persecuted by his companion. Dimmesdale is very much aware of his hypocrisy, and he wishes (so he tells himself) to confess his sin. He cannot do so. His congregation feels him to be the holiest of the holies. Throughout long dark nights he tortures himself physically and mentally.

     Chillingworth, now convinced that Dimmesdale is the guilty party, decides to have a terrible revenge on the minister. His plan is to "make himself the one trusted friend" of Dimmesdale, the one who will receive in confidence the minister's fears, remorse, agony, and repentance. The physician gloats over the idea that he "the Unforgiving" will listen to the cries of the "Pitiless." Yet one thing does upset this plan a bit, and that is Dimmesdale's "shy and sensitive reserve." But to overcome this, the watchful doctor chooses his time carefully to subtly suggest some idea that will fill the minister with fear. For the most part Dimmesdale does not realize that he is being manipulated by the "leech" much as a mouse is played with by a cat. Once in a while his instinct tells him everything is not right, and for a moment he looks with "horror" at the deformed Chillingworth. However, on the surface seeing nothing wrong with the old man, Dimmesdale blames himself for not truly appreciating his physician friend. The sense of hypocrisy in Dimmesdale has had an unusual effect upon his preaching. His daily agony has made him sensitive to the needs, trials, and distress of others. He becomes increasingly famed among the Boston clergy. Some of his fellow ministers are greater scholars than he. Some have sturdier minds than his. Some have a greater spiritual presence. But Dimmesdale surpasses them all in one way: he possesses the "Tongue of Flame," for he is able to interpret humble, commonplace, familiar things of the ordinary world is having spiritual significance. Dimmesdale's congregation believe him to be "a miracle of holiness." The ground on which he walks they believe to be "sanctified."

     Young maidens of his church find him irresistible. The aged members of the congregation greatly admire him. In the face of all this admiration Dimmesdale longs "to speak out, from his own pulpit, at the full height of his voice," telling the people the truth about himself: "I . . . am utterly a pollution and a lie!" Several times Dimmesdale draws a long breath in his pulpit ready to tell his hearers that he is "altogether vile." He does tell them that he is vile, but he never gets to the place in the sermon when he explains why he is unworthy. (This is a form of hypocrisy, for he realizes he has no true intention of telling the complete truth.) His conscience does bother him, however, and he spends long nights in agony considering his sin. Sometimes he takes from a secret closet a "bloody scourge" (a whip with sharp particles attached to it). As he whips himself, he laughs bitterly. He fasts, going without food for long periods of time. He sits alone in total darkness through long nights. He varies this last activity by sometimes "viewing his own face in a looking-glass" with the aid of a powerful light. This "constant introspection" (looking inwardly at himself) tortures him but does not purify him. At times, his brain becomes weary and "visions" flit across the surface of the looking-glass: sometimes he sees demons who beckon to him; at other times he sees angels who look sorrowfully at him; and then he views "dead friends of his youth," his father and this mother; finally, he sees Hester Prynne leading little Pearl by the hand. Everything has a bitterness about it to Dimmesdale. He realizes that he is an "untrue man," for as far as he is concerned "the whole universe is false." One night when he is particularly unhappy, Dimmesdale gets up from his chair and prepares himself to leave the house.

This chapter makes the following main points:
 

• Chillingworth has come to the point where he is certain Dimmesdale is the guilty man he has been searching for. By subtle means, he vengefully tortures the hypocritical minister.
• Dimmesdale's knowledge of sin has made him sympathetic to the sins of his fellow men. His reputation grows as his sermons become more and more inspired. He tries to confess his sin, but his unfinished confessions lead the members of his congregation to believe that he is a "saint on earth." They say that if he is sinful, how much more sinful they must be!
• Dimmesdale punishes himself by the whip, by denying himself food, and by keeping lonely watches through the night. At times, he studies his own face in a mirror.

     Dimmesdale stands on top of the scaffold and shrieks. He is joined on the scaffold by Hester and little Pearl, and the three hold hands together. Chillingworth comes along and finally conducts the weary Dimmesdale home.

     Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold seven years after Hester had stood on it for penance. It is Saturday, on a dark night in early May. It is about midnight. He is drawn to Hester's scaffold of penance by "remorse." The fact that it is at night is representative of his "cowardice." Suddenly he shrieks aloud. He thinks he will awaken the whole town, but he does not do so. Only two people respond to his cry - the old magistrate. Governor Bellingham, and his sour-faced sister, Mistress Hibbins. The two people awakened by his cry finally go back to bed. Reverend Wilson is seen walking along carrying a dim lantern. This worthy minister has just come from the "death-chamber" of Governor Winthrop. Dimmesdale imagines that he speaks to the Reverend John Wilson, but he does not, for his mind is now playing tricks on him. He begins to think that he might not be able to leave the scaffold (because his limbs are beginning to grow stiff with the cold), and he imagines many early risers finding him crouched on the platform in the morning. He pictures elderly leaders of the community, as well as Governor Bellingham and Mistress Hibbins, all staring at him on the platform. He imagines "Father Wilson," the elders and deacons of his church, and Boston's purest young maidens turning their amazed faces up towards him. Almost hysterically, he laughs. His laugh is answered by a "light, airy, childish laugh," belonging to Pearl. Hester and Pearl are just returning from Governor Winthrop's deathbed where Hester has "taken his measure for a robe." At Dimmesdale's invitation the two newcomers climb the steps of the platform. Quietly the minister takes one of Pearl's hands; Hester takes the child's other hand. It is a still moment. Pearl inquires if the minister will join them tomorrow noon in the same place. The minister says he cannot, but that he will join hands with the two at "the great judgment." (Dimmesdale soothes his own conscience by such a plan, that is, to confess his sins when all sins of the world are to be accounted for, according to his Puritan doctrine.) All at once, a meteor flashes through the sky, lighting all about them. To the guilty Dimmesdale the meteor has the "appearance of an immense letter - the letter 'A.'" (Dimmesdale has adultery on his mind and his "guilty imagination" makes him connect this sin with all those around him.) Not only does this sudden flash of light reveal Pearl holding by each hand one of her parents, but it also reveals (especially to Pearl) the figure of Roger Chillingworth standing near the scaffold scowling at them like an "arch-fiend." Instinctively, Dimmesdale gasps, "Who is that man, Hester?" A moment later, he says, "I have nameless horror of the man!" He appeals to Hester to help him. Pearl mumbles into the minister's ear some childish "gibberish," in an attempt to identify Chillingworth. When Dimmesdale asks if she mocks him, she replies that he did not promise to take her mother's hand and her own hand in the noonday sun in front of other people. At this point, Chillingworth explains that he has spent the "better part of the night" at the bedside of the dying Governor Winthrop. He then demands that Dimmesdale accompany him home. The two leave together. On the next day, the Sabbath, Dimmesdale preaches his finest sermon to date. As he leaves his pulpit, the church sexton holds up to him his own black glove as he explains that it had been found on the scaffold where it was probably dropped by Satan. The sexton also provides an interpretation of the meteor. He believes the letter "A" stood for "Angel," because Governor Winthrop became an angel when he died.

The following things happen in this important chapter:

• Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold at midnight and cries out, hoping to relieve his conscience.
• Hester and little Pearl join the saddened minister on the scaffold, where they clasp hands.
• Chillingworth watches the three of them, as a meteor streaks by in the sky lighting up the landscape. The hypocritical minister thinks the meteor takes the shape of a letter "A," which his guilty imagination imagines to stand for adultery. (The members of his congregation, the next day, feel the "A" stands for "Angel," which they believe Governor Winthrop became the previous night when he died.)

     Upset at Dimmesdale's sad physical condition, Hester Prynne decides that she must help him. Over the period of seven years of wearing the scarlet letter, she has become an accepted, relatively respected, member of the community.

     Hester realizes that there is a force damaging Dimmesdale's sense of peace other than his conscience alone. She realizes that Chillingworth is that evil force. Over a period of seven years her scarlet letter had become a "familiar object to the townspeople." To her credit she had never fought the public-she has always submitted "to its worst usage." For seven years her life has been "blameless." She has given generously to the poor; she has nursed the sick. Many people begin to consider her a "Sister of Mercy." The letter "A" begins to become the symbol of her "helpfulness," meaning to some people not adultery, but "Able." Hester never demands public approval. Where there is darkness, sickness and poverty, there she is, too. Hers is not an existence filled with sunshine; hers is a dark world. The magistrates (judges) gradually begin to recognize her helpfulness. One sacrifice has been made by Hester through the wearing of the scarlet symbol-she has lost much of her femininity. Her somber looks, her hair hidden under a cap, and her reserved manner cause her to seem very stern. Of course, the fact that she once had allowed herself to be tender and has suffered considerably because of that influences her behavior now. She must not seem a loose woman in any way. If she were alone she might have difficulty in keeping her solitary, stern position. But little Pearl has caused her to carefully regulate her behavior. (If Hester were to live at a later period in history, she would probably be known as a feminist, a champion of women's rights.) Although Hester presents a submissive appearance to the great satisfaction of her fellow Puritans, inwardly she lives in darkness and receives no comfort. Evidently, the scarlet letter represents a certain form of public penance, but it has not truly purified. Her knowledge of sorrow helps her understand the great sadness in Dimmesdale's heart. She decides to help him. She knows that Chillingworth, Dimmesdale's "secret enemy," has falsely been pretending to be a "friend and helper" to the unhappy minister. Until this time she has had her lips sealed regarding her association with Chillingworth, for the vengeful old man had demanded this of her when he visited her seven long years ago in the prison. Hester makes up her mind to meet Chillingworth and talk the matter over with him. One afternoon, she finds him as he is walking, gathering roots and herbs for medical supplies.

The following points are made in this chapter:
 

• Hester's reputation in the community has improved remarkably. Many people now admire her for her good deeds.
• Hester covers up most of the softening signs of her feminine nature. She thinks about the place of woman in the world.
• She plans to help Dimmesdale in his sorrow.

Chapter XIV: "Hester And The Physician"

     Hester speaks to Roger Chillingworth and tells him that she must tell Dimmesdale the old man's true name.

     First, Hester tells Pearl to run to the edge of the shore and play. The child stops at a pool of water left by the "retiring tide," and peeps in at the water-mirror. Pearl finds herself looking at an elfish playmate, mirrored back at her from the water. She beckons to the playmate to join her, but the elfish maiden in the water beckons back to Pearl. Chillingworth tells Hester that one of the magistrates has been discussing the question of her removing the scarlet letter from her breast. Hester tells the old man that it is not the place of the magistrates "to take off this badge." She also says that if she were worthy of having it removed, "it would fall away of its own nature." Hester is shocked to see how much Chillingworth has changed in several years. Once he was quiet and studious; now his expression is "almost fierce," and he has a false smile. At times, a red light seems to gleam out of his eyes. He has enjoyed his seven years of torturing Dimmesdale. Hester tells him that she feels a duty towards Dimmesdale to tell him of Chillingworth's true identity - that he is her husband. She further tells the old physician that he has caused Dimmesdale "to die daily a living death." She adds that she "acted a false part" when she agreed to hide Chillingworth's identity. The old man says: "What choice had you?" Chillingworth tells of the great effort he has put forth in caring for the ill minister's health. Then he gloats as he says that he has "grown to exist only by this perpetual poison of the direst revenge!" Suddenly the old man realizes the depths of evil to which he has sunk-it is as if he were truly seeing himself in a mirror for the first time. Hester asks if Dimmesdale has not been punished enough. The physician cries out: "No!" Gloomily he tells of his own happy days in the past when he worked "faithfully for the advancement of human welfare." He says that he is a "fiend." Hester remarks that she did this to him, and she wonders why he has not revenged himself on her. He says to her: "I have left thee to the scarlet letter." Hester then firmly tells Chillingworth that she intends to reveal his true identity to the suffering Dimmesdale. She asks the physician if he would not like "to pardon" the man who has wronged him-Dimmesdale. He answers that it is not in his power to do this, explaining that it is his fate to hate and torture Dimmesdale.

This chapter brings out the following important points:

• Hester talks with Chillingworth. He tells her that some of the Puritans are discussing the possibility of permitting her to remove the scarlet letter from her breast.
• Hester notes how evil Chillingworth has grown to look. (His desire for revenge on Dimmesdale has done this to him.) The "leech" admits he has become a "fiend."
•  Because she feels she still has a "duty" toward Dimmesdale, Hester tells Chillingworth that she must tell the unhappy minister that the physician is the one who is torturing him, and why.