It has been seven years since Hester stood on the scaffold holding Pearl as an infant.
7 years
Hester and Pearl had been visiting Governor Bellingham's house, where they were discussing Pearl being taken away from Hester. On their way home, they stop at the scaffold where Hester was punished.
Hester Prynne joins Dimmesdale in his vigil on the scaffold, holding hands with him as they watch the procession go by. Pearl also ends up joining them, refusing to leave Dimmesdale's side.
In chapter 2 of The Scarlet Letter, after Hester leaves the jail, she is publicly displayed on a scaffold holding her infant daughter, Pearl. She is subjected to public humiliation and forced to wear the embroidered scarlet letter 'A' on her chest as a form of punishment for her adultery.
Roger Chillingworth approaches Dimmesdale just as he invites Pearl and Hester to join him near the scaffold.
The scaffold in "The Scarlet Letter" symbolizes both public shame and judgment, as well as a place of redemption and transformation. It is where Hester Prynne is publicly humiliated, but also where she finds the strength to overcome her sin and grow as a person. The scaffold represents the intersection of sin, society, and individual conscience throughout the novel.
Pearl does not initially come to Hester because she is a child with a free spirit and an independent nature. Pearl requires Hester to publicly acknowledge her sin and shame by wearing the scarlet letter openly before she will come to her.
In "The Scarlet Letter," foreshadowing is used to hint at future events, such as Hester's public shaming in the first scaffold scene foreshadowing her later confrontation with Roger Chillingworth. Symbolism also plays a role in foreshadowing, like the scarlet letter itself serving as a constant reminder of Hester's sin and leading to her eventual redemption. Overall, Hawthorne's use of foreshadowing creates a sense of inevitability and tension in the narrative.
During the procession, Hester stands on the scaffold in the marketplace with her daughter Pearl. During Dimmesdale's sermon in the church, she stands in the back of the congregation, unseen by the rest of the town.
Before he dies, Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl in front of the townspeople. When he does this, he reveals that it was he who committed the sin of adultery with Hester...
The scaffold, the scarlet letter itself, and Pearl are all devices in "The Scarlet Letter" that symbolize sin and its consequences. The scaffold is where public shaming occurs, the scarlet letter is a physical reminder of Hester's sin, and Pearl embodies the product of Hester's sin.
Pearl stops throwing stones when Dimmesdale stands with Hester and Pearl on the scaffold in the marketplace at the end of the novel. At this moment, it symbolizes her acceptance of her family and their collective sin.