What plan do Hester and Dimmesdale agree upon during their secret meeting in the woods to escape Chillingworth's malice?
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: To sail a merchant ship to Bristol, England, and live there anonymously as a family.
Hester and Dimmesdale decide that escaping across the ocean to Europe is their best chance to find freedom and leave their suffering behind. They book passage on a Spanish vessel scheduled to leave Boston in a few days. This plan gives Dimmesdale a brief rush of energy, but it ultimately challenges his deep-seated need for public confession.
Keep practicing
More The Scarlet Letter questions
- What specific transformation occurs in Pearl after she kisses her dying father during his public confession on the scaffold?
- What happens to Roger Chillingworth within a year of Arthur Dimmesdale's public confession and death?
- Years after the main events of the novel, what does Hester Prynne do that cements her legacy in the Boston community?
- Where is Hester Prynne buried at the conclusion of the novel, and what is unique about her final resting place?
- In the introductory essay 'The Custom-House', how does the narrator claim to have discovered the story of Hester Prynne?
- What reason does the town leadership give for attempting to legally separate Hester Prynne from her young daughter, Pearl, when she is arou…