1. "I will not speak!" answered Hester, turning pale as death, but responding to this voice, which she too surely to recognized. "And my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthy one!" (page 64)
- Hester Prynne refused to tell anyone, including the judge, who is her infant's father. The seriousness in her voice shows the unshakable determination she has for protecting the child's father, the one she loves. On the other hand, this quote reveals that Hester's faith of humanity has been lost. She does not want to give her innocent child a sinful and fearful human father because she thinks not only the father, but also all human in the world are not free from sins. People are committing a corporate guilt without noticing it. She does not want this unredemptive society to stain her child's pure little soul because she knew, as she have learned from her own experience, that the society will assimilate everyone into it's pound of sins. Ironically, the people who disobeyed it would be seen as transgressor or sinners. No doubt why she wants to seek a heavenly Father for her child.
- It is all about revenge again. What is revenge? It is this feeling in people's heart to be equal - to be equally treated or to be equally hurt. Like how Elizabeth hurt Abigail by dismissing her from work and not allowing her to see Proctor (from The Crucible), Hester hurt Chillingworth by committing adultery with a guy he does not even know. No wonder why both of them, Abigail and Roger, wanted to revenge. Abigail sent Elizabeth in jail to complete her vengeance; while Roger is planing on leaving Hester alone with her infant and the scarlet letter (a.k.a guilt). Revenge also made him disparate to find out who is the father of the child, too.
II. Discussing Questions
1. What is the purpose of Chillingworth's visit to jail?
2. When Hester said that Chillingworth is plaining to ruin her soul, he said "No, not thine!" (72) So whose soul is he going to ruin?
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