Scarlet Letter 5

1.) "'I found them[weeds] growing on a grave, which bore no tombstone, nor other memorial of the dead man, save these ugly weeds, that have taken upon themselves to keep him in remembrance. They grew out of his heart, and typify, it may be, some hideous secret that was buried with him, and which he had done better to confess during his lifetime'" (Hawthorne 119).

It is interesting to note the symbolic use of plants in this story. From the very beginning, we are presented with a rose. A rose bush stood outside the prison door as Hester left. The Scarlet Letter is the same color as a rose. Pearl is fascinated with roses and likens herself to one, saying she was plucked from a rose bush. On the other side of the spectrum, we have the weeds that Chillingworth finds with dark leaves. These are so different from a rose in every way. Where a rose represents beauty, weeds are ugly, and where red is a bright, vibrant color, the weeds dark leaves are anything but. Chillingworth tells Dimmesdale that the weeds grew over a man's grave, signifying some secret that the man did not confess during his life. The lies were manifesting themselves as his only remembrance, as the grave did not have even a burial marker. Chillingworth uses the weeds to try and get to the secret he suspects Dimmesdale of hiding, a secret the same as Hester. Hester has already made known her sin, and is reminded of it every day. Dimmesdale keeps his secret hidden, allowing it to eat away at him each day. This is worse than making his secret public, as s represented by the weeds when compared to Hester's roses.

2.) "'Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder Black Man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already. Come away, mother, or he will catch you! But he cannot catch little Pearl!'" (122).

Pearl offers some interesting insight when she sees Dimmesdale. She cautions her mother to follow her, or else the Black Man, i.e. the Devil's messenger, will get her, and that he has already gotten Dimmesdale. Most would not expect Dimmesdale to succumb to any devil, literally or figuratively, as he is a holy man of the cloth. Dimmesdale has, however, figuratively sold himself to the devil, in a way. It has been said that whichever parent has the child and brings it to Heaven is sure to follow, but the other is not guaranteed inside the holy gates. Therefore, Dimmesdale thinks himself going to hell. Hester has taken responsibility for their sin, but he has not. In this way, by keeping it in, he is sentenced to hell, whereas Hester, bearing both her Scarlet Letter as well as Pearl, is able to go to heaven having confessed to her sins. The Devil cannot catch Pearl because she is the reason Hester will go to heaven. She is Hester's moral compass, guiding her there, but not Dimmesdale. The Black Man is silently eating away at Dimmesdale's soul, while Hester is offered a chance at absolution in Pearl.