CHARACTER LIST
Hester Prynne
● Protagonist; young woman punished for adultery.
● Forced to wear the scarlet “A.”
● Proud, strong, compassionate, intelligent.
● Skilled seamstress; raises Pearl alone.
● Symbol of resilience; becomes a counselor for women later in life.
Pearl
● Hester’s daughter; the living symbol of the scarlet letter.
● Wild, intuitive, emotional, sometimes eerie.
● Constantly questions the letter A and Dimmesdale’s connection.
● Gains humanity and softness after Dimmesdale’s confession.
● Eventually receives Chillingworth’s inheritance and disappears.
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale
● Pearl’s father; a beloved minister.
● Represents private guilt, hypocrisy, inner torment.
● Becomes physically weak from shame and self-punishment.
● Confesses publicly at the end, finally finding peace.
Roger Chillingworth
, ● Hester’s older husband in disguise.
● Becomes obsessed with revenge once he discovers Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father.
● Symbol of evil, decay, psychological torture.
● Eventually withers away and dies after Dimmesdale’s confession.
Governor Bellingham
● Wealthy, hypocritical Puritan leader.
● Represents strict law and rigid tradition.
Mistress Hibbins
● Bellingham’s sister; rumored witch.
● Symbol of the darkness lurking beneath Puritan society.
● Represents temptation and forbidden knowledge.
Reverend John Wilson
● Older minister.
● Represents the stern, unforgiving Puritan law.
The Townspeople / Puritan Society
● Serve as judgmental observers.
● Their shifting interpretation of Hester’s “A” shows how meaning changes over time.
Hester Prynne
● Protagonist; young woman punished for adultery.
● Forced to wear the scarlet “A.”
● Proud, strong, compassionate, intelligent.
● Skilled seamstress; raises Pearl alone.
● Symbol of resilience; becomes a counselor for women later in life.
Pearl
● Hester’s daughter; the living symbol of the scarlet letter.
● Wild, intuitive, emotional, sometimes eerie.
● Constantly questions the letter A and Dimmesdale’s connection.
● Gains humanity and softness after Dimmesdale’s confession.
● Eventually receives Chillingworth’s inheritance and disappears.
Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale
● Pearl’s father; a beloved minister.
● Represents private guilt, hypocrisy, inner torment.
● Becomes physically weak from shame and self-punishment.
● Confesses publicly at the end, finally finding peace.
Roger Chillingworth
, ● Hester’s older husband in disguise.
● Becomes obsessed with revenge once he discovers Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father.
● Symbol of evil, decay, psychological torture.
● Eventually withers away and dies after Dimmesdale’s confession.
Governor Bellingham
● Wealthy, hypocritical Puritan leader.
● Represents strict law and rigid tradition.
Mistress Hibbins
● Bellingham’s sister; rumored witch.
● Symbol of the darkness lurking beneath Puritan society.
● Represents temptation and forbidden knowledge.
Reverend John Wilson
● Older minister.
● Represents the stern, unforgiving Puritan law.
The Townspeople / Puritan Society
● Serve as judgmental observers.
● Their shifting interpretation of Hester’s “A” shows how meaning changes over time.
