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Post by makoval38 on Nov 8, 2011 19:30:09 GMT -5
In Chapter 3 a new character is introduced; A man who Hester Prynne saw in the crowd with a native american. However, out of all the people in the crowd, Hester watches him and there is some strange interaction between them. Why do you think the presence of this man is important? Explain. Do you think that he may have a larger role in the novel than just being a casual observer?
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Post by elreinh38 on Nov 11, 2011 13:32:43 GMT -5
This man does seem to be very important because of his looming effect on Hester and the town. Everything about him seems very suspicious. His is very obviously an outsider to the town and the Puritan community; he dresses differently, he doesn't know what is happening with Hester, and he is with an Indian. Being an outsider immediately links him to Hester because she too is an outsider to the Puritan community. By both being on the outside of the consensus, they are automatically joined. We found out a little later that they do in fact know each other. Their reactions when they realize that they know each other shows that there is a lot of tension between the two. This tension makes it clear that this man is important in Hester's life, although he seems to have a negative effect on her. His effect on Hester is portrayed on page 59, (I have a different book than everyone else.. I think it might be 58 or 60 in your book) "It was better to stand thus, with so many betwixt him and her, than to greet him, face to face, they two alone. She fled for refuge, as it were, to the public exposure, and dreaded the moment when its protection should be withdrawn from her." By choosing public humiliation over seeing this man, we see that Hester is very frightened and distraught by this man. Also, by implying that the moment will come when they will be forced to meet, we can assume that this man will be back and Hester will be forced to meet with him.
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Post by tihuber38 on Nov 13, 2011 14:11:49 GMT -5
I agree that the man will likely reappear later in the novel and have an important impact on Hester Prynne. I have an idea about who he is that will probably be confirmed or denied later in the novel. It was mentioned that Hester was sent ahead of her husband to Boston. If the strange man with the Indian companion was her husband who finally arrived, it would explain his strange appearance, and Hester's immediate apprehension around him. It does seem strange that her husband would claim that he has never met her before, but it stands to reason he would not want to associate with Hester now that she has committed adultery, and alienated herself from the rest of the puritan community
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Post by hadobos38 on Nov 13, 2011 22:24:39 GMT -5
I agree with the previous posts that this mysterious man will be important later on in the story, because he is somehow in acquaintance with Hester Prynne and she is the protagonist of the novel. There is a possible probability that he may be Hester Prynne's missing husband for nearly two years since she'd been in Boston. To add evidence to Tim's point about the man being her husband, on page 60 Hawthorne writes, "'The learned man," observed the stranger, with another smile, 'should come himself, to look into the mystery.''" From my perspective it seems that the mystery man knows information about her husband's whereabouts, and is being sarcastic in his comments about the husband coming to the land. If he is in fact Hester's husband, he seems to be mocking himself considering none of the townspeople know who he is, yet they know the tale behind Hester's being in Boston alone. This mockery is evidence to prove that he could be Hester's "long-lost" husband of two years; in addition to the fact that they clearly know each other and there is tension between the two, considering the situation she is in.
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Post by adlupic35 on Nov 13, 2011 22:53:00 GMT -5
In chapter 4 we find out that he is Hester's husband. On page 68, Hester's doctor, Roger Chillingworth, is described as "that individual of singular aspect, whose presence in the crowd had been of such deep interest to the wearer of the scarlet letter", indicating to the reader that he is the mystery man from before. Later on in the chapter on page 71 he is described as "the man whom [Hester] had most deeply and irreparably injured". It is implied that this "injury" to Roger had been caused by Hester's adultery, and because it Hester's husband would be the only person who would be hurt by her adultery, it is revealed to us here that Roger is in fact Hester Prynne's husband.
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Post by adlupic35 on Nov 13, 2011 22:56:45 GMT -5
Also, below that quoted line on page 71, Roger is basically explaining how he had been foolish to think that he could satisfy Hester as a husband and he also states that they "came down the old church steps together, a married pair", explicitly mentioning that they are husband and wife.
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