Y'all. There is so much to discuss here.
I'd like to think of this as sort of a Hester appreciation post, because these chapters finally center around her once again, and she shows us several times what an absolute queen she is. First of all, in chapter 15, we finally see her angry about something - she is downright seething about how much she hates Chillingworth, which...same. We've discussed a lot how, despite all the torture this town has put her through, she's kept a saint-like calmness and compassion, but personally I thought hearing that she hates a decidedly evil man very much humanized her and made me sympathize with her even more. Then, we see even more of her relationship with Pearl, and y'all, it's just so cute. Pearl is asking all these Pearl-ish questions about why the minister keeps his hand over his chest (I suspect Chillingworth knows, but we don't quite know yet) and why Hester wears the scarlet letter, and Hester has this whole internal discussion with herself about whether Pearl is old enough to know or not. It was just such a motherly moment for her; deciding Pearl is still too young, so making up the story about the Black Man in the forest to please her daughter. It made me love both of them all the more.
And let's talk about Pearl for a second. We get a really good look into her in these chapters, and she's still just as much of an enigma. She is so perceptive and inquisitive, but also so..."odd" sounds harsh, but I just mean she's not a typical human child. For one thing, her connection with nature is so strong. We already know she's compared to birds a lot, but when she's playing with some birds on the beach and accidentally injures one, she sits down dejectedly because it "grieved her to have done harm to a little being that was as wild as the sea-breeze, or as wild as Pearl herself" (Hawthorne 161), it becomes especially obvious. Then, when Hester and Dimmesdale are having their DMC in the woods (more on that later), Hawthorne does this beautiful personification of the forest thing, describing how it "became the playmate of the lonely infant" (187), and how the flowers "whispered, as she passed, 'Adorn thyself with me, thou beautiful child, adorn thyself with me'" (188). My guess is that, because man has never really been able to truly understand or predict nature, we are supposed to intuit that we may never really understand Pearl.
But back to the conversation between Hester and Dimmesdale. Y'all know I've had little patience for Dimmesdale. I think he should have fessed up a long time ago. But hearing how much he's being affected by this secret, and (with my newly rejuvenated respect for Hester and her compassion), I almost felt sorry for him and understood why Hester wasn't angry with him. Almost. But then he had to go and yell at her for admitting that Chillingworth was her husband and my sympathy disappeared. And then he has the temerity to make her solve his problem for him?? But anyway, we've all been asking why they didn't just run away, so I, for one, am quite pleased that they've decided to do just that.
To wrap up with a couple questions: how do y'all feel about their plan? What do you think is the symbolism behind Pearl's image being doubled in the brook during her little tantrum in the woods? Do you think Pearl will ever accept Dimmesdale as her father?
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