Nathaniel Hawthorne

“ Adultery.
Hester. I pray you spare me.
Governor. Thou art the widow of a man of whom
Report spake only praise: no act of thine
Hath openly offended decency,
But that young life which draws its sustenance
From thy round breast avows thy hidden shame.
Hester. Have mercy on the babe, O, God!
Governor. That thou shouldst sin, and thereby, Hester, bring
Dishonor on the name thy spouse did give thee,
Is worse than in a meaner woman. If thou
Hast aught to say to mitigate the wrath
Of justice, speak. And, Hester, bear in mind
The penalty is death or banishment.
Hester. ”

“ Examines Dimsdell.
The pulse is weak—a clammy sweat—
'Tis but the culmination of the trance.
'Tis but a dream. A dream! Yet one must die;
And to our human thought that death were best
That came preceded by a flag of truce
To parley peace. To pass away in dreams—
Without the vain regret for work undone;
Without a load of sin to weight the soul ”

“ Hester. Thou wilt not kill him?
Roger. What a silly thing thou hast become, now thou hast left the path of virtue! Do I kill thee? Am I dangerous? Is there force in this withered body to harm a lusty knave, a brave seducer of ripe womanhood? ”

“ Diggory. Aye, sir.
Roger. On the tenth go to the barber's and have thy hair cut short.
Diggory. But, sir, my hair is my best feature!
Roger. It is with many; cut it, however, or lose the worth of all of the charm. Dost thou hear, Diggory? Cut thy hair short or never win fair woman. Farewell.
Diggory. I thank you, sir. [Going] "Lady love, ting-a-ling"—nay, that's not it.
Roger. Diggory!
Diggory. Yes, sir.
Roger. Who are with the Governor?
Diggory. The worthy ministers, Master Wilson and Master Dimsdell. ”

“ Dimsdell. Why, how is this?—But now, the Governor's garden—and now, my room!—But now, just now, old Doctor Chillingworth—and now, mine enemy, Roger Prynne! Thou art the Devil himself!—Thou shalt not trick me thus.
Band music in distance.
Roger. Trick thee? Why, madman, thou hast been in trance since yester noon. Trick thee! I like the word! 'Tis now the time of day when thou shouldst preach the great Election Sermon, the one event that makes or mars you preachers. Dost hear the music? A day hath passed since thou wast in the garden. They are marching even now to the market place. ”

“ For me hath life no charm to cheat my hope,
Or make me wish to linger here; yet I
While lives the child would shelter her, the one
Sweet flower that lovely grows above the soil
Of my most foul debasement.
Although the blossom of iniquity,
She takes no tinct from whence she springs, but rather
Of the sky toward which she doth unfold. ”

“ God bless your heart, sir.
Roger. Is't a boy or girl, how old?
Ursula. A girl and three months old.
Roger. Three months? Three years you mean.
Ursula. Three months, I said.
Roger. Thou dost not mean that Hester Prynne hath borne a child within the last two years?
Ursula. I do. [Aside] A strange man, truly. This news hath troubled him; but that's not strange, it troubles all her friends. He seemed glad enough she had a child, but when I said it was a girl it seemed to sting him. Well, well! God help the women; we are unwelcome when we come, abused while we stay, and driven hence with ill-usage. ”

“ Ursula. I know them everyone.
Roger. This wine is excellent. [Drinking] Dost know one Roger Prynne?
Ursula. The husband of our Hester Prynne?
Roger. The same. [Aside] Thank God, she lives.
Ursula. He's dead, sir, rest his soul, a more than thirty months ago.
Roger. Poor fellow! He was a friend of mine. Where did they bury him?
Ursula. His ship was wrecked, he had no burial.
Roger. Here's to his memory! You know his wife?
Ursula. Alas; I do, sweet lady!
Roger. And why alas? The loss of a husband is no great calamity in a colony. There can be no dearth here of husband-material, I fancy.
Ursula. ”

“ Exit Martha.
Roger. Roses, and you asked her not!
In love! in love! up to the eyes in love!
She'll drown in love unless you marry her!
Dimsdell. Oh! that I were worthy of her!
Roger. Dost love her, Dimsdell? Ah! she's worthy love.
She's fair and young; of gentle birth and rich ”

“ Anon, the sprouts will break our troubled land,
Thrust forth the first red blades, and thence grow on,
Forever and forever!
I see this vast expanse of continent,
That dwarfs the noble states of cultured Europe,
Spread out before me like a map, from pole
To pole, and from the rising to the setting sun.
I see it teem with myriads; I see
Its densely peopled towns and villages;
I see its ports, greater than any known,
Send forth their riches to the hungry world. ”

“ They struggle. Roger interposes the chair between himself and Dimsdell. Finally, Dimsdell wrenches the chair from Roger, flings it aside, and, grappling him, chokes Roger to death.
Dimsdell. [Panting] A man! A man! A man!—Dead! dead! dead!—Nay—like a man!—Like a dead man!—A trick!—A devilish trick!—Did he not come in angel form—and then as Doctor Chillingworth—and then as Roger Prynne—and now,—and now, as a dead body? ”

“ When myriads of unborn beings knock loud and long
Upon the willing portals of the heart
For entrance into life. Deny it not;
I say but truth—I once was young myself.
Behold the means!
Enter Martha Wilson, carrying a bunch of roses.
Dimsdell. Oh! Oh! [Clasps his breast.]
top [Pg 73]
Roger. Whither so fast, Martha, that thou canst not speak to us?
Martha. Oh! I beg your pardon, Doctor. Good morning, sir. I seek my father; is he with the Governor?
Roger. Knowledge is costly, Martha; yet thou art rich enough to buy more than information. ”

“ Then might a man yield up
The willing ghost as calmly as a child
That falls asleep upon its mother's breast
To wake in paradise.
Dimsdell starts up.
Dimsdell. I see thee now—and now I'll kill, kill, kill—
If thou be Satan I cannot harm thee—
But if a man—
Dimsdell attempts to reach Roger, who keeps the one chair of the room in front of him and thus wards off Dimsdell.
top [Pg 82]
Roger. Madman, listen! Thou canst not harm me, yet I am not Satan. My name is Roger Prynne. I am the husband of the woman you have wronged.
Dimsdell. Thou Roger Prynne? ”

“ Whew!—Aha! enchantment is the only highway to success in love! Now let me see: "Lady love, lady love, where'er you be"—
Betsey. [Singing behind the scenes]
Little bird, little bird, come tell me true;
If I love my love, as your love loves you,
And if he loves me, as you love your mate;
Can hardly be called, sirs, quite sober.
top [Pg 66]
Diggory. That's Betsey singing now! If the charm works like this, bear fat will be worth its weight in gold. But perhaps my features may have pleased her after all—I'm not bad to look upon; and truly I would save my hair; it's the best part about me. ”

“ But is this woman, stained with sin,
A mother to entrust a child to?
Dimsdell. That question God hath answered; and we know
The stain of sin doth fade beneath the bleach
Of true repentance; through it all appears
The woven figure of the woman-fabric—
Her motherhood!
We owe our lives to woman's suffering,
We owe our health unto her temperance,
We owe her all the best of us. Let God
Condemn her sin, but let us not presume
To punish her where He hath healed her heart.
Wilson. There is weight in what he says.
top [Pg 60]
Roger. Yea, and earnestness!
Governor. Well, Hester, go thy way ”

“ Hester. He's safe enough.
Roger. Perhaps, but then these poachers, who fish in others' ponds, are proud of their achievements. They will talk. They brag in their cups and strut and ogle when they're sober.
Hester. I'll warn him of thee.
top [Pg 39]
Roger. Thou wilt do nothing of the kind. But come, Hester, man and wife ought not to quarrel. Let us set a good example to the world in peace if not in chastity. Sit you here and listen to me.
Hester. Well? ”

“ Enter Rev. Arthur Dimsdell. People uncover as he passes. He salutes them gravely and generally.
Dimsdell, a word with you.
Dimsdell. Good evening, gentlemen.
Governor. Dimsdell, here is good Doctor Chillingworth,
Who tended thee. I hope you gentlemen
top [Pg 46] Will prize each other at your native worths.
Dimsdell. I shall be glad to know you better, Doctor.
Roger. And I, to see you better, sir.
Dimsdell. Pardon me, I must in; I'm late already.
Exit Dimsdell—all follow except Governor Bellingham and Roger Prynne. Bell ceases.
Governor. How weak a hold we have on health! ”

“ I'll give you, sir, but two.
Drops liquid into glass and fills with wine.
There, swallow it.
Administering to Dimsdell.
Now, let me see—he must not know how long
He slept,—and by the sun it is not long—
I have't; I'll make him think he merely lost
Himself while I was talking.
Dimsdell stirs. Roger pours a glass of wine and takes position he occupied when Dimsdell fell asleep. Speaks as in continuation of former speech.
top [Pg 70]
Mellow wine
Is Nature's golden bounty unto man.
And it hath well been said: Dame Nature is
A gentle mother if we follow her ”

“ Hester vanishes. Satan fades. No light, save "A" on Dimsdell's breast.
And, now I go, I put this curse upon thee:
Be coward still, wear outwardly the garb
Of righteousness, shake in thy pious shoes,
Cover the stigma on thy breast from eyes
Of flesh, and be a hypocrite, till death
Relieves the world of thee. We'll meet again.
[Lightning. Exit Satan. Dimsdell lies in trance.
Night. No sound, no light.
top [Pg 54]
Act III.
Scene I.—The garden of Governor Bellingham. Roger Prynne, called Chillingworth, alone.
Roger. The fox that robbed my roost is sly; he keeps
The cover warily ”

“ Ursula. Adultery.
top [Pg 21]
Roger. Tried for adultery?
Ursula. Aye, sir, that she is.
Roger. It is a lie, a damned lie! Tried for adultery! A likely thing! So pure a woman! A purer creature never lived!
Ursula. Sir, you are her friend? You know her?
Roger. I am—I am her husband—her husband's friend. I knew her in Old England. Adultery! A pretty word! Who doth accuse her? Damned detractors!
Ursula. Her child.
Roger. Her what?
Ursula. Her child.
Roger. Hath Hester Prynne a child? Well, well; that is news indeed! God bless the little thing! it can't be quite as much as three years old ”

“ There's a trial, sir, on a charge of bastardy.
Butts. Ha! ha! ha! You rogues had better ship elsewhere; if the wind sits in that quarter, you'll find foul weather here.
Sailors. Ha! ha! ha!
top [Pg 14]
More people cross the stage.
Butts. Cheapside on a holiday!
Re-enter Mother Carey, dressed for walking.
Carey. O, dear! O, dear! I'll be late; I'm sure I'll be late. Oh! dear, dear, dear! why will that Ursula still lag?
Butts. What's the matter, Mother?
Carey. Matter? Matter enough! a gentlewoman tried for adultery and me sure to miss it all! [Looks around.] Why doesn't Ursula come? O, dear! ”

“ I'll kill him—Kill, kill, kill—now, now, now—
Roger. In trance again! Help! Help! Help!
Dimsdell becomes rigid; with arm uplifted as if to strike a death blow. His speech thickens, and he stands motionless. Roger supports him.
top [Pg 77]
Act IV.
Scene I.—A room. Dimsdell upon a couch in a cataleptic trance. Roger Prynne watching him. Two chairs; other furniture heavy and immovable. Roger. [Feeling Dimsdell's pulse] There's been no change.
A very long trance.
At times he mumbles; at other times, as now,
He lies like death. ”

“ Sir, drink this off.
Dimsdell. I thank thee, kind physician.
[Drinks.
Roger. Nay, thank me not. Now, take a glass of wine.
[Giving him another glass.
top [Pg 62]
Dimsdell. Methinks, the wine is richer than is common.
Roger. Thirst always gives an added age to wine.
This is right Xeres. Hast been in Spain?
Dimsdell. Nay, but the wine hath. I feel its warmth. ”

“ Arnold. 'Tis very true; but, sir, though many break this law and go unpunished, our godly Company should not wink at known adultery.
Langdon. In other words, we must find scape-goats to bear our sins. ”