Hawthorne frames The Scarlet Letter around three scaffold scenes in the beginning, middle and end of the novel; each scene occurs on different occasions and at different times. In all three scenes, however, the main characters Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth are united. The scenes become more intense as the involvement and interaction of each character progress.
The first scaffold scene begins on an early summer morning. The reader is introduced to the three main characters and a physical description of each. Hester leaves the prison and walks through the marketplace to assume her position on the scaffold for her sentence of public humiliation. The Reverend Dimmesdale allows Hester the chance to repent in order
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