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Similes
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Hypocritical Sermons:
Dimmesdale's sermons throughout the novel are wrought with situational irony because he is calling on people to behave virtuously even though he himself has failed to do so. An early example of situational irony in Dimmesdale's sermons occurs in Chapter 3, when Dimmesdale tells Hester why she should reveal Pearl's father:
"Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so than to hide a guilty heart through life."
Related Themes:
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—Family Separation:
There is situational irony in the fact that the government wants to separate Hester and Pearl from one another years after they have been exiled. In Chapter 7, the narrator criticizes the governor for getting involved in the scheme to take Pearl away from Hester, which is supposedly for both of their moral betterment:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Among those who promoted the design, Governor Bellingham was said to be one of the most busy. It may appear singular, and indeed, not a little ludicrous, that an affair of this kind, which, in later days, would have been referred to no higher jurisdiction than that of the selectmen of the town, should then have been a question publicly discussed, and on which statesmen of eminence took sides.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Hypocritical Sermons:
Dimmesdale's sermons throughout the novel are wrought with situational irony because he is calling on people to behave virtuously even though he himself has failed to do so. An early example of situational irony in Dimmesdale's sermons occurs in Chapter 3, when Dimmesdale tells Hester why she should reveal Pearl's father:
Unlock with LitCharts A+"Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so than to hide a guilty heart through life."
Related Themes:
