LEARNING

OBJECTIVES
After going through this module, you should be able
to:

a. discuss views on revenge, adultery,

shaming, and other issues related to the
topic;
b. compare and contrast the characters’
strengths and weaknesses using the Venn
diagram; and
c. create another version of the end of the
story.
.

TOPIC OUTLINE
MODULE 8: The Scarlet Letter
By: Nathaniel Hawthorne

OVERVIEW

As you go through your journey in Masterpieces of

World Literature, you will appreciate more what life
experience brings. Hi! Welcome to module 8!

This module reveals a story of a woman who had a "The Scarlet Letter 23" by Byrds & Mirrors
is marked with CC PDM 1.0 retrieved
love affair to a minister of church and had given birth
September 8, 2020 from http://bit.ly/2EfcX7m
to a child who served as concrete evidence of her
infidelity. Her adulterous act led to public shaming
that affected not only her but also the entire
community.

Further, this module will serve as an eye opener

particularly for those who can relate the same
experience. Find out what this wonderful life
experience entails.

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 ACTIVATING
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
“Nathaniel Hawthorne” by Matthew Brady is retrieved
September 8, 2020 from http://bit.ly/32DUcnu
1. Have you ever been tempted to fall in love
with someone else while already in a
relationship?
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________
2. If yes, how did you feel keeping a secret
relationship to your partner?
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________
3. If no, how would you deal with this kind of
situation in case it may happen to you?
___________________________________________
___________________________________________
___________________
THE SCARLET LETTER
By Nathaniel Hawthorne
About the Author
Nathaniel Hawthorne, born on July 4, 1804 in Salem,
Massachusetts was an American short story writer
and romance novelist, who experimented with a
broad range of styles and genres. He is best known
for his short stories and two widely read novel: The
Scarlet letter (mid-March 1850) and The House of
Seven Gables (1851). Along with Herman Melville
and Edgar Allan Poe, much of Hawthorne’s work
belongs to genre of Dark Romanticism,
distinguished by an emphasis on human fallibility
that gives rise to lapses in judgment that allow even
good men and women to drift toward sin and self-
destruction. Dark Romantics tend to draw attention
to the unintended consequences and complications
that arise from well-intended efforts at social
reform.
Melville dedicated his epic novel, Moby-Dick to
Hawthorne: “In token of my admiration for his
genius.” Hawthorne’s lesser- known poems
exemplify Dark Romanticism; some his darkest
works, including his ghost stories and tales involving
the supernatural, fall within the genre of Gothic
Literature.
Young Hawthorne was a contemporary of fellow
Transcendalists: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David
Thoreau, and Louisa May Alcott, Hawthorne was
part of this prominent circle of Massachusetts
writers and philosophers. The Transcendentalists
believed in the “inherent goodness of both people
and nature.” I would encourage you to think of them
as intellectual hippies of the early 19 th century (the
movement sprang forth in the 1820’s and 1830’s).
Hawthorne was a founding member of Brook Farm,
a utopian experiment in communal living. Though he
is not portrayed as a deep believer in its ideals. As
Hawthorne matured, he drifted further and further
from some of the transcendental principles. In fact,
his later writing, produced after greater experience in
the world, demonstrated an increasing disdain for
the Transcendental Movement. He notably
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fictionalized experiences of Brook Farm in his
satirical novel, The Blithedale Romance (1852)
https://bit.ly/325MSAC
6. To give a summary or synopsis of something.
7. To give warning or advice
8. Disrespect or mockery
9. The tendency to make mistakes
10. Feeling in which someone is extremely
interested with something.

Reading Comprehension

The Scarlet Letter begins in the 17th century in a

Puritan settlement, now called Boston. There lived a
young beautiful woman, Hester Prynne, who was led
from the town prison with her infant daughter named
Vocabulary to Explore Pearl and on her breast was a scarlet letter “A”.
Someone from the crowd told an elderly onlooker
Directions: Learn new vocabulary in this word maze. the reason Hester being punished was because of
Encircle the word which you can find their adultery. Hester’s husband was a scholar who was
corresponding meaning below. much older than her. Hester was sent by her
husband to Boston ahead and he will come after
once his business is done, but he never arrived in
Boston.
S E A M S T R E S S C E
I C S C O R N H B D O N
M F A Z Y X B E S U N C
P A E F M S T R E S S A
I L R C F M C T A T E P
S L E X H O R T N E C S
H I P H X N L R S R R U
M B R S Z O I D T Y A L
L I I H B M F N M W T A
I L E A H A S T E R E T
T I V M B I A W S G D E
Y T E E B A C A S D N N
W Y V M O N O M A N I A

Seamstress Scorn
Impish Encapsulated
Consecrated Monomania
Exhort Reprieve
Fallibility Scaffold

1. A raised platform on which criminal is executed.

2. A woman whose occupation is sewing.
3. A temporary suspension of a punishment
4. Someone who is mischievous
5. Sacred or holy

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 The Scarlet Letter (1917) by Anonymous (Fox Film Corporation
is licensed under public domain retrieved September 9, 2020 from
https://bit.ly/35RTjtl
Everyone believed that Hester’s husband may have
been lost at the sea, that he could have already been
dead.
Apparently, Hester had had an affair and had given
birth to a child while waiting for her husband. Hester
promised that she would never reveal who the father
of her daughter is; however, the scarlet letter on her
breast and the public shaming stood as her
punishment for her sin and secrecy. On that day, she
was led to the town scaffold. She was sermonized
by the town fathers, but she still refuses to reveal his
lover’s identity who was believed to be her
daughter’s father.
Unknown to everyone, the elderly onlooker who has
been told about Hester’s adultery was her missing
husband. He was already practicing medicine and
disguised and called himself Roger Chillingworth. He
stayed in Boston with an intent on revenge. He
revealed his true identity to no one but to his wife,
Hester, whom he had sworn to secrecy.
Several years passed, Hester supported herself and
her daughter by working as a seamstress and Pearl
grew up a willful and impish child. Being avoided and
rejected by the community, Hester and Pearl lived in
in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston.
Community officials tried to take Pearl away from
her mother but it never happened because of Arthur
Dimmesdale, a young and eloquent minister. He
helped the mother and daughter to stay and live
together.
However, the minister seemed to be wasting away.
He appeared to be suffering from a mysterious heart
trouble, seemingly caused by psychological distress.
Chillingworth attached himself to Dimmesdale and
moved in with him so she could give the round-the-
clock care to the ailing minister. Because of his
observations, Chillingworth had some suspicions
that what was happening to the minister. May have
a connection to Hester’s secrecy. His suspicions led
him to test what he can find out from the minister.
One afternoon, while Dimmesdale was sleeping,
Chillingworth discovered a mark on the minister’s
chest. This convinced Chillingworth that what he
suspected between the minister and Hester was
correct.
Dimmesdale’s condition had worsened and he
invented new torments for himself. On the other
hand, Hester’s charitable deeds gave her a reprieve
from the community’s scorn. One night, when Pearl
was about seven years old, she and her mother were
returning home from their visit to a deathbed when
they encountered Dimmesdale on the town scaffold,
punishing himself for the sins he has committed.
The mother and daughter joined the minister and the
three linked hands. Pearl requested Dimmesdale to
acknowledge her as his daughter publicly the next
day but the minister’s self-torments but
Chillingworth denied Hester’s request. Hester’s
arranged a meeting with Dimmesdale at the forest
because she knew that Chillingworth had probably
predicted and she planned to reveal his true identity
to Dimmesdale decided to flee to Europe where they
can live as a family with Pearl. They would take a
ship sailing to Boston in four days. The two felt a
sense of relief and Hester took off her scarlet letter.
Pearl did not recognize her mother without the letter.
The townspeople gathered at the church for a
holiday, a day before Hester, Dimmesdale and Pearl
would leave. Dimmesdale preached his most
eloquent sermon ever.
Meanwhile, Chillingworth had learned that Hester
and Dimmesdale planned to flee to Europe. This
made him book the passage on the ship. While
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leaving the church after his sermon. Dimmesdale Objective: Create an acrostic poetry concerning your
saw Hester and Pearl standing at the town scaffold. views on revenge, adultery, shaming, forgiveness,
and other related topics.
Dimmesdale impulsively mounted the scaffold with
Hester and their daughter and confessed their sin Task: As a student in Masterpieces of World
publicly. He exposed a scarlet letter seared into a Literature, you are tasked to create your own
flesh of his chest, he immediately as Pearl kissed acrostic poetry regarding your views on revenge,
him. Chillingworth became very frustrated in this
adultery, shaming, forgiveness and other related
revenge because it did not turn out the way he
wanted it to end. He died a year after Dimmesdale topics on the space provided on the right side of this
died. Hester and Pearl left Boston and no single one page. Below is a good example of an acrostic poetry.
knew where they have gone nor what happened to
them, but many years have passed, Hester came
back to Boston alone and still with the scarlet letter.
There, she lived in her old cottage and continued her
charitable endeavors. She still received occasional
letters from her daughter, Pearl, who married a
European aristocrat and established her own family.
When Hester died, she was buried next to her lover
Dimmesdale sharing a single tombstone which
bears a scarlet “A”.

"The Scarlet Letter 23" by Byrds & Mirrors

is marked with CC PDM 1.0 retrieved
September 8, 2020 from http://bit.ly/3hJfOTH
LEARNING
ACTIVITY 1
Explore your Creativity

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 Objective: Compare and contrast the characters’
strengths and weaknesses using the Venn diagram.

Task: Work with partner. Compare and contrast the

_________________________________ strengths and weaknesses of Roger Chillingworth
and Arthur Dimmesdale using the Venn diagram.
_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

_________________________________

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LEARNING
ACTIVITY 2
Comparison of the Characters

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 Task: For you to be able to develop your creativity
and imagination, you, are tasked to create another
version of the story’s ending. Note: Your own version
of the story’s ending must contain at least 150
words. Please, use the space provided on the next
page.

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________

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LEARNING
ACTIVITY 3 ___________________________________________________

Other side of the story’s ending ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________
Objective: Create another version of the end of the
story.
___________________________________________________

Module 5 – Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story | Page 7 of 9

___________________________________________________
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____________
SUMMARY
Let us see if you can remember the main points
raised in this lesson. Below is a summary of these
points:
The story revolves around Hester Prynne and her
alleged adulterous acts. She was sent to Boston
ahead by her husband but her husband never
arrived. In consensus, he was believed to have lost
at the sea. Hester has had an affair and had given
birth to a daughter whom she named Pearl. Hester
never revealed her daughter’s father because she
wanted to protect his identity and reputation.
Hester’s missing husband, disguised and called
himself Roger Chillingworth, returned practicing
medicine and with an intent on revenge. He
associated himself to Dimmesdale, the ailing church
minister, whom he suspected of having a connection
with Hester’s secrecy. He found out that his
suspicions were correct when he discovered a mark
on the minister’s chest.
Dimmesdale’s condition worsened due to his
psychological distress and new invested self-
torments. Hester decided to intervene. She and
Dimmesdale decided to flee to Europe with Pearl
and start as a family. However, on his very sermon,
Dimmesdale died after exposing the scarlet letter
engraved into the flesh of his chest. Due to
frustration on his revenge, Chillingworth died a year
after Dimmesdale died. Hester and Pearl left Boston
and no one knew what happened to them until one
day after several years, Hester came back alone and
continued her charity works but still with the scarlet
letter on. When she died, she was buried next to
Dimmesdale sharing a single tombstone which
bares scarlet letter A.
Congratulations! You have just finished module 8! I
hope that this will serve as lesson in making sound
decisions in life. Keep your track for the next
modules ahead.
READINGS AND
REFERENCES
Readings
Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). The
Scarlet Letter Full Text. Retrieved September
15, 2020, from
https://www.shmoop.com/scarlet-letter/full-
text.html
McDonald, R. (2020, May 05). The Scarlet Letter.
Retrieved September 15, 2020, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-
Scarlet-Letter-novel-by-Hawthorne
Hawthorne, N. (n.d.). The Scarlet Letter. Retrieved
September 15, 2020, from
https://americanliterature.com/author/nathan
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 iel-hawthorne/book/the-scarlet-letter/ Faculty, College of Arts and Sciences
summary

References

Shmoop Editorial Team. (2008, November 11). The

Scarlet Letter Full Text. Retrieved September
15, 2020, from
https://www.shmoop.com/scarlet-letter/full-
text.html

McDonald, R. (2020, May 05). The Scarlet Letter.

Retrieved September 15, 2020, from
https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-
Scarlet-Letter-novel-by-Hawthorne

Hawthorne, N. (n.d.). The Scarlet Letter. Retrieved

September 15, 2020, from
https://americanliterature.com/author/nathan
iel-hawthorne/book/the-scarlet-letter/
summary

The Scarlet Letter 13. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15,

2020, from
https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/
26fed67c-c227-4df6-be5a-5efc06dde006

The Scarlet Letter 23. (n.d.). Retrieved September 15,

2020, from
https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/
404e9b72-a128-4694-9c33-bc31bd9dca3d

Nathaniel Hawthorne. (n.d.). Retrieved September

15, 2020, from
https://americanliterature.com/author/nathan
iel-hawthorne

Anonymous, A. (1917). Wikimedia Commons.

Retrieved 2020, from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The
_Scarlet_Letter_(1917)_1.jpg

Prepared by:

RAQUEL ARCAINA, CRISPIN CAOILE

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