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he tells her he will stand there with her on "the great judgment day"
It has been seven years since Hester stood on the scaffold holding Pearl as an infant.
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.
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.
Dimmesdale is impelled by his guilt and desire for confession to stand on the scaffold as a form of public penance. Additionally, the mysterious hold that Chillingworth has over him contributes to his inner turmoil and compels him to seek some form of release.
7 years
Pearl asked Mr. Dimmesdale to stand with her and her mother on the scaffold in the town square, publicly acknowledging their relationship and ending their secret suffering. She wanted him to finally bring their hidden truth to light.
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.
Dimmesdale is standing on the scaffold with Pearl and Hester as they see the meteor and Pearl points out at someone and they see Chillingworth watching them from a distance.
Pearl resists going up the scaffold, sensing that it is a place of shame and guilt for her mother. She mocks and teases Dimmesdale, showing her defiance and unwillingness to be associated with him.
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.