The Scarlet Letter: Chapter 5

The color-coded bars in this section make it easy to track the themes throughout the work. Each color corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart. For instance, indicates that all five themes apply to that part of the summary.

Summary Analysis Themes

About three years pass. Hester, now free from prison, decides not to leave Boston. She takes Pearl to live in an abandoned cabin on the outskirts of town.

Hester’s sin drives her to the border of society and nature.

Hester supports herself as a seamstress. The same people who pay her for her work, including Governor Bellingham, continue to shun her.

Puritan hypocrisy: they’ll employ a “sinner” to suit their own needs.

Hester grows increasingly lonely. Pearl, her only companion, is a constant reminder of the source of her alienation: sin. Hester is determined to keep the meaning of the scarlet letter a secret from Pearl.

Like Chillingworth and Dimmesdale, Hester conceals a secret. These secrets harm those who keep them and those from whom they’re kept.