"'I will keep thy secret, as I have his,' said Hester"
This is significant because the fact that Roger would even have her keep this a secrets shows that he is a sneaky person. this also shows that he too is sinning. So if everyone sins, why focus on Hester's sin as if it is that much worse than Roger's, or even the gossipers? It is meaningful because these characteristics shapes the charecters in the book. This is dialogue.
1)Why does Hawthorne write many cumulative sentences instead of changing the syntax in these two chapters?
2) what do you think Roger's significance is?
3)Is Hester's sin worse than the sin of her husband? Is it worse than the sin of the gossipers?
Question 2: This was the question I also had but based on the dialogue between Hester and Roger, I would believe Roger to be the husband of Hester, considering the fact that he knew a lot about her, so he serves as a great significance to the story since he is the one Hester cheated on. To see his reaction and actions as a result of the whole situation contributes to the suspense and plot of the story, especially with him being a scholar and of high class based off his occupation in being a physician.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3: So far with the way the story is going, I would say that Hester’s sin beats the sins of the others. I’m not condemning Hester but I can see why Roger would tell her to keep the fact that they ever had a relationship a secret so as not to bring any shame to his name and especially his title. It’s cruel but given the fact that she did cheat on him, I would see his reasoning as to not be involved. As of the gossipers or rather the people, as mostly everyone then pretty much gossiped, I would still say that Hester’s sin is greater since it is something that was not accepted and greatly looked down upon by society. However, it is still too early in the book to say since the full story of the situation has not yet been addressed, but just in talking about these past chapters, I would say that Hester’s sin was worse than Roger and/or the gossipers.
Question #: As Jeannette already stated, Roger is the husband of Hester based on the conversation that they had in chapter four. He knew lots of background information about her and was so emotionally invested in finding out who the father of the child was. In some parts of the conversation it became easy to conclude that he was in fact Hester's husband, even still since there was no such thing as divorce during that time.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 3: I would have to say that Hester's sin was greater than Roger's or the gossipers. Hester was a married woman who chose to have an affair which ended with the birth of a child. I don't quite see how Roger would have committed a sin seeing as his wife cheated on him and in protection of himself asked her to keep their marriage a secret. The gossipers was pretty much everyone in the crowd since Hester's sin was something strongly opposed since it went against the morals of Puritan society, yet they didn't sin either. Based on what i've read so far, Hester's sin is far greater than that of anyone else.
I think the relationship of Hester and Roger has to do with either the past or her new ordeal with the burning letter on her chest. They may have had a past which they wish to conceal, or her husband as stated by Jeannette and Lauren. As to why they go through the run around to do so is bewildering. It leads the reader to believe there is way more to this so far shallow story.
ReplyDeleteHer husbands sin as well as hers would be equated if they have committed the same sin of adultery. However Roger simply wants a secret to be kept not to tell a lie. Being married to a person carries a certain amount of committment which she broke.
Question 1:Hawthorne chooses to use cumulative sentences in order to teach the audience more of Hester's personality, to define her characteristics as a human being and to reveal more of which plagues her soul. The author uses syntax as well, in order to show proper grammar,and possibly to show off his intellect!(ahaha)
ReplyDeleteThe commentary on sin is balanced also between that which people know (as the "public," like the townspeople in the novel) and that which they don't (because Hester's sin is the only public one): It is not only about the nature of sin, but human nature as a whole. If you've kept reading, you'll not a fascinating shift towards Chapters 12/13 that further develops these ideas.
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