Mistress Hibbins is based on the historical figure of Ann Hibbins, a prosperous Boston woman who was executed in 1656 after being found guilty of witchcraft. Ann Hibbins was the sister-in-law of Governor Bellingham, and Hawthorne preserves this relationship in the novel by describing her as his sister.

What is Mistress Hibbins symbolic of?

Mistress Hibbins: Another historical figure, Ann Hibbins, sister of Governor Bellingham, was executed for witchcraft in 1656. In the novel, she has insight into the sins of both Hester and Dimmesdale and is a symbol of super or preternatural knowledge and evil powers.

What happens to Mistress Hibbins in The Scarlet Letter?

It might be, too, that a witch, like old Mistress Hibbins, the bitter-tempered widow of the magistrate, was to die upon the gallows. Thus, we learn that Mistress Hibbins will, eventually, be hanged for the crime of witchcraft, a punishment which the Puritans are rather well known for using in the seventeenth century.

Who does Mistress Hibbins say is Pearl's father?

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.

What is Hawthorne's purpose for including Mistress Hibbins in the story?

Hawthorne uses Mistress Hibbins to foreshadow the ending and emphasize the intuitive understanding of human hearts.

Mistress Hibbins

Who is Governor Winthrop in The Scarlet Letter?

Winthrop was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and its first governor. As one of the men responsible for the beginning of Puritan society, he would naturally have had to insist upon a strict adherence to Puritan ideals.

Which two men tried to help Dimmesdale while walking?

Wilson, and the State, symbolized by Governor Bellingham, both try to hold Dimmesdale up as he approaches the scaffold, but he repels them and goes on alone.

What happens to Pearl at the end of the scarlet letter?

In a rather ironic ending, Pearl, the "elf-child" becomes the most human in the final scaffold scene. Having inherited property from Chillingworth, she has become the "richest heiress of her day, in the New World." With such riches, she may have married well, but her mother has taken her away to Europe.

Who washes a kiss away in the brook?

Pearl desires the minister to acknowledge her in public. While Hester assures her that this admission will happen in the future, Dimmesdale kisses Pearl's forehead in an attempt to mollify her. Pearl immediately goes to the brook and washes off the kiss.

Is Chillingworth Pearl's father?

Hester keeps secret the name of her illegitimate child's father (Reverend Dimmesdale) and the true identity of Roger Chillingworth (her husband). She will not reveal Pearl's father to protect Reverend Dimmesdale's reputation, as he is the minister of the church.

What does Governor Bellingham look like?

Physical Traits/ Physiognomy: -Young; with a figure of perfect elegance; tall; dark and abundant hair; black eyes; has a feminine gentility that is lady like and sets her apart from the other women during her time.

Who is Hester's lover?

Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale

Dimmesdale is a young man who achieved fame in England as a theologian and then emigrated to America. In a moment of weakness, he and Hester became lovers. Although he will not confess it publicly, he is the father of her child.

What does Pearl say regarding the brook?

Pearl resembled the brook: Her life had sprung from a well as mysterious as the brook's and had flowed through scenes as heavily shadowed with gloom. But unlike the little stream, she danced and sparkled and chatted airily as she went on her way.

Why does pearl not cross the brook?

Also, because the brook represents nature that is not bound by restrictions, Pearl refuses to cross it until her mother, who is part of the Puritan society, replaces the scarlet A upon her bosom.

Why does Dimmesdale put his hand over his heart?

He puts his hand over his heart to “cover” up his guilt and pain for not admitting to the sin he committed. He's trying to hold himself back from not exposing himself.

Does Scarlet Letter have a happy ending?

At the end of the novel, Dimmesdale makes a speech and exposes his chest to the community gathered around the scaffold, then dies. ... However, while the ending does allow for redemption and peace, it is not, strictly speaking, a happy ending.

What happens to Chillingworth?

Left with no object for his malice, 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.

Why does Pearl Kiss the scarlet letter?

So, when Dimmesdale kisses Pearl, he truthfully acknowledges her as his daughter; therefore, Pearl kisses him in like recognition as she ceases to be a symbol of her parents' adultery and becomes human, in acceptance and forgiveness of Dimmesdale, and in weeping human tears for the first time in the narrative.

Who is the black man scarlet letter?

Roger Chillingworth, Hester's long-lost husband, exemplifies this. Referred to more than once as the Black Man, Chillingworth demonstrates that our actions define our morality. In choosing the path of revenge, Chillingworth has made himself demonic.

What does Chillingworth see when Dimmesdale is asleep?

One day when Dimmsdale is asleep, Chillingworth sneaks over to him and pushes his shirt aside. He then sees a mark on the man's chest. He is thrilled to find what he has been looking for all this time. Now that Chillingworth has the prove that Dimmsdale is the father of Pearl, he can plan his revenge on Dimmsdale.

What does pearl call Chillingworth?

The Puritans often referred to the Devil as the Black Man, referring figuratively to the darkness of sin and evilness of deeds. Thus, when Pearl calls Chillingworth by this appellation, she seems to be identifying his sinfulness and wickedness.

Which governor died in Scarlet Letter?

The addition of Winthrop as a character in The Scarlet Letter serves several purposes. First, his death in the novel represents the death of the old rule and the beginning of a new reality for the settlers. Notice how Winthrop's death is placed quite close to Dimmesdale's admission of guilt.

Why does Chillingworth want revenge?

Chillingworth does want revenge because, as he says to Hester, this man "has wronged us both!" He feels that he shares some responsibility for Hester's current condition, and so there is a balance of blame between the two of them; not so for the man she slept with, Dimmesdale.

What is on Dimmesdale's chest?

He discovers that Dimmesdale, out of the guilt and sadness he feels from what occurs with Hester, has carved a letter "A" on his chest. This act of self-mutilation is essentially his own way to "share" the pain of Hester's humiliation.

Why does Pearl burst into a fit of passion?

Pearl "bursts into a fit of passion" when she stands across the brook from her mother because she sees that her mother is not bearing the scarlet letter. ... Pearl makes Hester don the scarlet letter again because Pearl feels estranged to Hester without it.