Chapter 21 Questions
By: Steve Wine
1. How does Hester dress for the holiday?
Hester was clad in a garment of coarse gray cloth (47).
2. What thoughts pass through her mind?
That she will soon leave Boston and with that, the dreadful life of the Scarlet Letter; she will be a normal woman once again. It is like a fresh start for her.
"'Look your last on the scarlet letter and its wearer!'--the people's victim and life-long bond-slave, as they fancied her...in Hester's mind, at the moment when she was about to win her freedom from the pain which had been thus deeply incorporated with her being (197)."
3. Contrast the mother and daughter's attire for the Governor's Election Day.
Well, the mother, Hester, is wearing dull, drab colors, while on the other hand, Pearl is wearing bright, vibrant colors. This can show the excitement of Pearl, but Hester is not showing hers (198).
4. What disturbing questions does Pearl ask?
Pearl asks a series of questions to her mother:
The first is why the blacksmith is wearing his "Sabbath-day" clothes
The next is why they all have come to the market-place
And the last is if minister Dimmesdale will be there, which he indeed is (199)
5. What does the ship captain tell Hester?
The captain tells Hester that an extra passenger had just booked passage on the same ship as her, Pearl and Dimmesdale, and that passenger is Chillingworth (204).
6. What is her response to this news?
Even though she in a state of shock, she acts calm and responds with, "They know each other well, indeed...They have long dwelt together (204)."