He is asked by Pearl and he sees a dull red light in the sky at night. The red light represents the letter "A."
Reverend Dimmesdale goes to the scaffold at night to stand on the same spot where Hester Prynne stood seven years before. He is struggling with his guilt and inner torment, and the act symbolizes his inner conflict and sense of moral responsibility. It is a moment of private penance and reflection for 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.
One example of foreshadowing is when Chillingworth is talking to Hester in the dungeon. He keeps saying "He will be known! He will be known! He will be known!" Here, Chillingworth is talking about how he will find out who the father of Hester's child is, as this is the man who wronged both Chillingworth and Hester. Another example is some of the scaffold scenes. In the second scaffold scene, which takes place at night, Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl stand on the scaffold together holding hands. Pearl asks Dimmesdale if they will stand on the scaffold together the next day, in which Dimmesdale replies that they will another day, but not tomorrow. This foreshadows the last scaffold scene, where Dimmesdale calls Hester and Pearl to the scaffold during the Election Procession.
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.
Scaffold
Dimmesdale refuses to promise Pearl that he will publicly acknowledge her as his daughter and herself as her father. He is hesitant to make this promise because it would require him to publicly confess his sin of adultery, which he is not yet ready to do.
In the first scaffold scene in Chapter 2 Hester Prynne's punishment upon the scaffold is to stand there for three hours and bear the letter "A" on her chest
The sexton in "The Scarlet Letter" believes that the devil placed the scarlet letter on the scaffold where Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale stand. He thinks this because the letter mysteriously appears without anyone seeing who put it there.
I was impelled by events to take a stand
In The Scarlet Letter, a vigil refers to a time of keeping watch or staying awake, often as a means of penance or reflection. It is a period of solitude and introspection where characters confront their inner struggles, particularly in relation to the themes of sin and redemption present in the novel.
The term impel means to move forward. Typically it is seen is sentences such as I was impelled to make a stand against these actions. Alternative words include propel, urge or motivate.
he tells her he will stand there with her on "the great judgment day"