Chapters 11-12

Dimmesdale and Chillingsworth start to collide in their relationship. They each start to figure out feelings and premonitions of their guilt.

Dimmesdale starts to torture himself to see if it helps the guilt that he feels. When this doesn't work, he sees Hester at the deathbed of Mr. Wintrop and they go to the scaffold in the middle of the night to try to absolve his guilt. I don't understand how he would think that this would work to absolve his guilt. Hester doesn't even like the idea. She wants him to confess during the day so the townspeople see him. He will not do that. Chillingsworth finds them and thinks Dimmesdale is sleepwalking.

A meoteor shoots through the sky looking like a letter "A." Spark Notes states that the Puritans believed in natural signs to lead them. It is brought up that this sign is the passing of the founder of the New England Colony by Winthrop and Dimmesdales guilt.

The pressure that was put on the Puritans was, in my opinion, worse than the lifestyle they could have had in England. I can't seem to find one character who has honorable character in this book. Everyone has something squirrelly about them. Dimmesdale - adultery, Chillingsworth - deception, Hester - Adultery, Pearl - Hester's disposition, the Governor's sister - witchcraft and all the townspeople who are basically acting like witch hunters. These townspeople thought that making the sinners confess and live in hell was a good thing to do to get to heaven. I would rather have lived in England. Geez.

Why doesn't Hester spill the beans to the townspeople?

Why doesn't Hester exploit Mr. Chillingsworth and Reverend Dimmesdale? They both are rats.

I thought it was interesting that the townspeople thought that the meteors letter 'A' stood for Angel!
I think Dimsdale just acted upon the spur of the moment with regard to getting on the platform. he does feel bad about his part in the adultry but values his standing in the community too much to come clean. Even when his glove was found on the scaffold the townsperson couldn't believe that Dimsdale was actually upon it but that it was planted by a prankster or the devil.
I feel that hester has redeeming qualities but I don't see any in dimsdale or chillingsworth. I don't find Pearl repugnant either. i believe her mother indulged her too much but that probably happened because Pearl was her only companion/confidant.

I can only think of Hester as a martyr. How much can she endure.

I think that it is interesting that the author doesn't really allow us to empathize completely with any one character, even Hester, who I thought was the main character. We see that Dimmsdale places the good of the whole (his Christian followers) against the good of one (Hester), and the author allows us to understand this point.

Did anyone else notice the reference to The Pilgrim's Progress?? We are such learned individuals. he he

No! What is the reference to Pilgrim's Progress?

This list of classics really makes me believe there is a conspiracy going on. Everyone is referring to another classic. LOL

Or is this the real plan. Classics are in a "plane" of their own?

I did not catch the reference either. I think that must happen quite a bit, we just didn't know it! I know it happens in conversation and in speeches among learned fols and sometimes have felt it is an 'us vs them' thing. People who know, know the know what is being referred to, and know that a large group of folks don't know! Sometimes though the best alliterations come from making references to reading because it really does get the point accross.

I believe that it is at the begining of chapt 10