Chapter two is where the story begins. Nathaniel Hawthorne spends a great deal of the beginning of the chapter describing the setting. His descriptions of the prison and its door were already revealed in chapter one, yet he continues his descriptions of it in chapter 2. He states that it was a bright sunny day, with people among the prison waiting anxiously to see who was going to be punished. Hawthorne adds:
"But, in that early severity of the Puritan character, an inference of this kind could not so indubitably be drawn. It might be that a sluggish bond-servant, or an undutiful child, whom his parents had given over to the civil authority, was to be corrected at the whipping-post..."-Hawthorne
This information is important because it's the first passage in the book that gives you a hint on how a Puritan's mind works. With a harsh Puritan's character, the audience amongst the prison door can't determine the prisoner or their crime. They can only determine his or her fate, because they've had so many executions or public punishments for simple reasons.
A group of women are gathered around each other in the audience. They know that Hester Prynne is the one who is being punished, and some are quite pleased with it. I started to question why they were talking poorly about Hester Prynne, until the description of her made it obvious that they were jealous of her beauty:
"The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes."-Hawthorne.
It was obvious that Hester Prynne was trying her best to cover up her dismay. Hawthorne made a good first impression on the main character. He also makes the scarlet letter a well-known symbol by adding great details of it, and how Hester decorated it with golden lace. In her hands she holds her newborn baby, Pearl. Nathaniel Hawthorne makes it clear that she is beautiful just like her mother, yet does not go into great detail with her until chapter six.
"But, in that early severity of the Puritan character, an inference of this kind could not so indubitably be drawn. It might be that a sluggish bond-servant, or an undutiful child, whom his parents had given over to the civil authority, was to be corrected at the whipping-post..."-Hawthorne
This information is important because it's the first passage in the book that gives you a hint on how a Puritan's mind works. With a harsh Puritan's character, the audience amongst the prison door can't determine the prisoner or their crime. They can only determine his or her fate, because they've had so many executions or public punishments for simple reasons.
A group of women are gathered around each other in the audience. They know that Hester Prynne is the one who is being punished, and some are quite pleased with it. I started to question why they were talking poorly about Hester Prynne, until the description of her made it obvious that they were jealous of her beauty:
"The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance, on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face which, besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a marked brow and deep black eyes."-Hawthorne.
It was obvious that Hester Prynne was trying her best to cover up her dismay. Hawthorne made a good first impression on the main character. He also makes the scarlet letter a well-known symbol by adding great details of it, and how Hester decorated it with golden lace. In her hands she holds her newborn baby, Pearl. Nathaniel Hawthorne makes it clear that she is beautiful just like her mother, yet does not go into great detail with her until chapter six.
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