Chapter 1: The Prison-Door: The first chapter in the Scarlet
Letter the setting is Boston in the 17th century in front of
the prison. The prison was plain colored and the
surroundings were very ordinary except for the rosebush that
is outside of the prison. All the Puritans dressed in drab,
Chapter 2: The Market Place: Outside of the Prison the ugly
puritan women discuss the adultery of Hester Prynne. Hester
is the beautiful woman wearing a bright A on her bosom. She
carries her baby (Pearl) in her arms. While standing on the
scaffold she has flash backs of her old life, and the
childhood school days, and her mother and father, also the
Chapter 3: The Recognition: While standing upon the Scaffold
she recognizes a small disformed "native" man in the
background. While no one in the rest of the town knows him
Hester is in shock that he is here. The man (Roger
Chillingworth) asks why this woman is standing on the
scaffold and what she did to get there. He learns of her
crime (adultery) and her punishment to stand on the scaffold
for three hours and to wear the letter A on her chest for
the rest of her life. Chillingworth also learns that she
will not name the father of her baby. His goal is to find
out who the father is. Rev. Dimmesdale try to pry the
fathers identity out of Hester. But he does not succeed.
After a long sermon she is led back to the prison.
Chapter 4: The Interview: Hester is in her prison cell and
is very nervous. Pearl is having convulsions. Then, Roger
Chillingworth comes to Hesters cell. He gives Pearl medicine
that makes her fall asleep. He then gives Hester a sedative
to calm her nerves. Hester and Chillingworth have
conversations over who is to blame for the affair. And we
learn that he is Hester's secret husband who had sent her to
Boston before himself, she had taken him as dead at sea.
Hester promises not to tell anyone who he is...