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The Scarlet Stigma
A Drama
In Four Acts
By
JAMES EDGAR SMITH.
Founded upon Nathaniel Hawthorne's Novel,
"The Scarlet Letter."
WASHINGTON, D.C.
JAMES J. CHAPMAN,
1899.
Copyright, 1899, by JAMES EDGAR SMITH.
All rights reserved.
Press of George S. Krouse. Bindery of Edwin F. Price.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Stigmatization is a rare incident of ecstasy. Not many well
authenticated cases have been reported by competent medical
authorities, and yet there can be no doubt of its occasional
occurrence. See Encyclopaedia Britannica, article on Stigmatization
by Dr. Macalister, and references therein cited; also the work on
Nervous and Mental Diseases by Dr. Landon Carter Gray, page 511.
That it may occur in men of a high order of ability is instanced by
the case of St. Francis of Assisi.
It ought not to be necessary to point out that the entire third
scene in the second act of this play is a dramatic transcript from
the diseased consciousness of Mr. Dimsdell, that the Satan of the
play is an hallucination, and that the impress of the stigma upon
Dimsdell's breast is merely the culmination of his auto-hypnotic
ecstasy, or trance.
PERSONS REPRESENTED.
ROGER PRYNNE, called _Chillingworth_, a physician.
ARTHUR DIMSDELL, a youthful divine.
JOHN WILSON, a good old minister.
BELLINGHAM, Governor of the Colony.
BUTTS, a sea captain.
SATAN, an hallucination of Dimsdell's.
BRONSON, }
WARD, }
LANGDON, } Members of the Governor's Council.
ARNOLD, }
DIGGORY, a servant to Governor Bellingham.
HESTER PRYNNE, wife of Roger Prynne.
MARTHA WILSON, daughter of Rev. John Wilson.
URSULA, a nurse.
BETSEY, a milkmaid.
MOTHER CAREY, keeper of a sailor's inn.
_A Clerk, a Crier, a Jailer, Councilors, Citizens, Soldiers,
Sailors, Indians, Servants._
SCENE--_Boston_. TIME--_June, 1668_.
THE SCARLET STIGMA.
ACT I.
SCENE I.--_A tavern and a street in front of it. Settles on porch.
SAILORS smoking and drinking. Enter CAPTAIN BUTTS, singing._
_Butts._ _The Margery D. was a trim little ship,
The men they could man, and the skipper could skip;
She sailed from her haven one fine summer day,
And she foundered at sea in the following way,--
To-wit:_
_All._ _A-rinkety, clinkety, clink, clank, clank,
The liquor they bathed in, the spirits they drank;
A sailor at sea with three sheets in the wind
Can hardly be called, sirs, quite sober._
_Enter MOTHER CAREY, from Tavern._
_Carey._ Cap'n! Cap'n Butts! Gen'le gen'lemen! would ye rune a pore
widdy woman by a singing of sech filthy tunes? And me up for my
license again nex' Tuesday!
_Butts._ Peace! Peace, Mother Carey, hear your chickens screech!
Come, boys! [_Singing._
_The captain was thirsty, and so was each man,
They ladled the grog out by cup and by can,
The night it was stormy, they knew not the place,
And they sang as they sank the following grace,--
To-wit:_
_All._ _A-sinkety, sinkety, sink, sank, sunk,
Our captain is tipsy, our mate is quite drunk,
Our widows we leave to the world's tender care,
And we don't give a damn for the Devil!_
Ha! Ha! Ha!
_Carey._ O, Lord! O, Lord! If the magistrates should hear that song,
they'd close my place!
_Butts._ There, there now. [_Chucks her under the chin._] The
magistrates are not as quick to hear a sailor sing as thou art to
take his orders. Bring us a pint apiece.
_Carey._ Thou naughty man! [_Slaps his jaws._] A pint apiece? [_Exit._
_Butts._ Aye. Now, lads, bargain out your time; ye'll not see a
petticoat for many a day. [_Lights pipe and sits._
_Sailors._ Aye, aye, sir.
_CITIZENS cross stage, singly and in groups, all going in the same
direction. Enter MOTHER CAREY from house with ale, serves it, looks
up and down street as in expectation of some one, then goes in._
_Butts._ Mother Carey's lost one of her chicks. Here lads! here's
to the mousey Puritan lassies! They won't dance, they can't
sing--Ah! well! here's to them till we come again! [_All drink._
_Enter along the street two COUNCILORS._
_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.
_Arnold._ Nay, not exactly that. We vindicate God's laws, and----
[_Exeunt Councilors._
_Butts._ He must be Privy Councilor to the Lord Himself!
_Enter a group of WOMEN._
_First Woman._ Her beauty, say'st thou? Pretty is as pretty does,
say I. I'd beauty her! Go to! Who knows the father of her brat; can
any tell?
_Second Woman._ Thou dost not doubt thy goodman?
_First Woman._ Trust none of them. I know mine own; dost thou know
thine? As for her she hath shamed our sex, and I would--
[_Exeunt Women._
_Butts._ God's-my-life, there's more poison in their tongues than in
a nest of rattlesnakes? What's all this pother, lads?
_Sailor._ 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!
_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! O, dear!--why, here she is!
_Enter URSULA._
What kept thee, Ursula?
_Ursula._ Such a crowd! Whew! I'm out o' breath. [_Sits; one or two
pass over._] The town's run mad to look upon a gentlewoman shamed.
[_Citizens still pass._] Ah! there's no room for me now, but when
her labor came God knows there was no press! I had room enough then,
not one would lend a hand--fie! they are serpents, all of them; they
have double tongues to hiss, but ne'er a hand to help.
_Carey._ Still talking to herself. Here, Ursula, take the keys and
wait upon the gentlemen. [_Hands keys to Ursula and exit up street._
_Ursula._ Let the gentlemen wait on me awhile.
_Butts._ Would you have us die of thirst, Ursula?
_Ursula._ What will you have, Captain?
_Butts._ Stingo, Ursula, stingo! [_Exit Ursula in tavern._
What say you, lads, shall we see this trial?
_Sailor._ Aye, aye, sir, the woman's fair to look upon.
_Butts._ Then let us get our ballast in, hoist sail and tack away.
_Re-enter URSULA with ale._
Who is it, Ursula, they try?
_Ursula._ A gentle lady, sir. God's-my-life, had no man tempted
her--but, that's your ways, you tempt us, blame us when we yield,
and then make laws to punish us.
_Butts._ But, what's her name?
_Ursula._ What should it be but Hester Prynne?
_Butts._ Hester Prynne? The gentle Mistress Prynne I brought from
Amsterdam three years ago?
_Ursula._ The same, God bless her.
_Butts._ My lads, don't wait for me. [_Exeunt Sailors._
I knew her husband, Ursula; a man
Well versed in all the wisdom of the time;
Somewhat well gone in years, but lovable
Beyond the shallowness of youth, and rich
In mellow charity. Oft hath he sailed
With me from port to port where learning drew him,
And still came richer home. One day he shipped
For Amsterdam and brought his bride, who, like
A hawthorn in its pink of youth that blushes
'Neath the shadow of an ancient elm,
Shed spring-time sweetness round his green old age.
I've seen them often in their Holland home,
Where wisdom laid its treasures at the feet
Of love, and beauty crowned the offering.
She was a lovely lady, Ursula,
And when her lord, still bent on learning more,
Resolved to come out to America--
His own affairs then calling him to England--
He placed her in my care, intending soon
To follow her. He did, but cursed fate!
His ship was lost--no one knows where!
_Ursula._ Alack
The day! She had not sinned had he been here.
_Butts._ But, didst thou know her, Ursula, as I
Have known her, wisely good and true, thou wouldst
Have wondered more.
_Ursula._ Know her, sir! I nursed her!
_Butts._ Thou, Ursula?
_Ursula._ None but I!
_Butts._ Where were her friends?
_Ursula._ Where, but at home! Dear heart,
They shunned her like the plague--though if the truth
Were known, many that shun her now would keep
Her company perforce. None came near
But pious Master Dimsdell, and even he
Came only out of duty to her soul;
He told me so.
_Butts._ The Reverend Master Dimsdell
And thou her only comforters?
_Ursula._ Nay,
The little bairn was her greatest comfort, sir.
_Butts._ How doth she bear her trouble, Ursula?
_Ursula._ Like a good woman, sir.
_Butts._ She yet is that!
But have you never learned her lover's name?
_Ursula._ Nay, I never have.
_Butts._ 'Tis strange that she
Should fall; and then endeavor to conceal
Her lover! Noble, wise and beautiful,
No other than a man of mark could win her!
_Ursula._ A three years widow, baby three months old,
A coward run-a-gate of a lover, sir--
Tell me, is there no exception made
By law for widows?
_Butts._ None, of which I know.
_Ursula._ The law is hard indeed!
_Butts._ I wonder if
A rough sea-dog like me might speak a word
For her?
_Ursula._ Aye, that you might! Go seek the good
Old Doctor Wilson, mercy dwells with him,
And he will aid you, sir.
_Butts._ I'll go at once.
[_Exeunt severally, Butts up street, Ursula in tavern._
_Enter ROGER PRYNNE, travel stained._
_Roger._ We are not masters of our paths, although
Our wills do seem to guide our faltering steps:
Ship voyagers are we, and roam at will
Within the narrow confines of the deck,
But neither plot nor steer the destined course.
I may have passed her house--I'll ask my way
Here at the inn. Long live King Boniface!
What ho! some wine!
_Ursula._ [_Within_] Your patience, Captain, I'll be there anon.
_Roger._ At your leisure, hostess; I've learned to wait. [_Sits._
A bachelor at sixty, I found myself
Encumbered with a ward--nay, not that--
Enriched with female loveliness and grace
Bequeathed unto me by a dying friend.
Volition had no part in that, nor in
My sudden recrudescency of love.
I willed our marriage; but 'twas fate bestowed
The joys I long had fled. Then came our life
In Amsterdam; each day so filled with bliss
It overflowed into the next, and days
Of joy grew into weeks and months of happiness--
Let me have wine, I say!
_Ursula._ [_Within_] Coming, sir!
_Roger._ Anon the traveling itch--was't fate or will--
Possessed my soul to see America,
And money matters calling me to London,
Where raged the plague, I sent my wife before me
To America with Captain Butts, then bound
For Boston. Ah! well-a-day, the parting!--
I hurried up my business; fled London town;
Shipped for America; was wrecked far South;
Captured by Indians; escaping, wandered North
Until I found the white man's colonies;
And now footsore and old I've reached the place
I first intended. What next, O, Fate?
_Enter URSULA._
Good morrow, hostess.
_Ursula._ Good morrow, sir. [_Surprised._
_Roger._ Look not
Askance upon my way-worn clothes; there's gold
To pay my reckoning. [_Throwing money down._
_Ursula._ Your pardon, sir; I marveled, sir, so fine a gentleman
Should be so travel-stained. What will you have?
_Roger._ Bring me a cup of sherris-sack.
_Ursula._ [_Aside_] I knew he was a gentleman! [_Exit._
_Roger._ How will my Hester greet me? Will she know me?
She never saw me with a beard, nor in
Such rags. Perhaps she thinks me dead--
If so, the shock might kill her--Let me see--
Putative widows have before my time
Bought second husbands with their beauty, wealth,
Or wit--and she hath all. 'Tis probable--
And when the long-supposed defunct returned,
He found his amorous relict the bride
Of a bright-eyed youth! What worse, ye harpy fates?
She may be dead! Oh! this is madness!
Sweet Heaven, let her live! and, if I find
Her married, I'll depart unknown to her
And bury in my heart's deep sepulchre
My widowed grief. Bah! I'm a fool!
This weakness comes from my long wandering!
Misfortunes, though we think we conquer them,
Ever pursue, hang on our rear, and give
Such rankling wounds as teach our souls to dread
What else may lie in wait invincible.
_Re-enter URSULA with wine._
_Ursula._ I beg your pardon, sir. I could not find the wine at
first.
_Roger._ Why, how was that?
_Ursula._ I'm not the hostess, sir, she is away; I merely take her
place till she comes back.
_Roger._ You fill it rarely.
_Ursula._ God bless thee, sir, I'm cook, nurse, or hostess, as
people need me. Ursula Cook, Ursula Nurse, or Ursula Goodale, at
your service, sir.
_Roger._ Ah, indeed, Ursula! Then I presume thou knowest many of the
citizens?
_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._ Whence come you that you know so little of the doings
here?
_Roger._ From the far South, where for two long years and more I've
lived among the savages. What do you mean?
_Ursula._ I mean her trial by the magistrates.
_Roger._ Tried by magistrates? For what?
_Ursula._ Adultery.
_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; nay, not so old. Why, such a tot can give no
testimony. I'll go to this trial; I may be able yet to aid her.
Adultery! Bah!
_Ursula._ 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.
_Roger._ Adulteress! That cannot be! There's some
Mistake, or some deceit in this. Her great
Nobility of heart would take upon
Herself another's wrong. I'll take an oath
The babe they say is hers she never bore!
_Ursula._ 'Tis surely hers, for I delivered her.
_Roger._ Hester! Hester! O, my God! My Hester!
Woman, didst thou say that she is married?
_Ursula._ Nay, I said she is a widow, sir.
_Roger._ Who is her paramour?
_Ursula._ I do not know. [_Busies herself removing tankards._
_Roger._ [_Aside_] Now is my honored name dragged in the dust
By her to whom I did confide its keeping;
And she herself, my cherished wife, upraised
Upon a pedestal of shameful guilt
For filthy mouths to spit their venom at.
Slowly now. Whatever haps I'll be
Cornelius Tacitus for the nonce, nor brave
My state with that true name which marks me out
As Publius Cornutus. I must have time to think.
[_To Ursula_] Get me more wine. Prepare a room for me.
_Ursula._ Aye, sir. [_Going._]
_Roger._ Where is this trial held?
_Ursula._ Sir, at the Market place, three crossings up
The street and to the left.
_Roger._ I thank thee. Go. [_Exit Ursula._
Why was the banishment of tyrant fate
Annulled by vigorous will? and why should I,
For whom the jaws of death unhinged themselves,
Escape from shipwreck, war, and pestilence,
And here attain my journey's end at last,
But that such evil deaths were much too mild
To gratify the fury that pursues me!
I was reserved for this last ignominy
As in despite of human purposes;
Robbed of mine honor where most I placed my trust
And reap this pain where most I sowed for peace.
Was it for this that I did marry her?
Was it for this I sent her here before me?
For this I nursed the holy purposes
Of wedded purity, o'ercame the shocks
Of human destiny, and held in check
The inward passions of the baser man?
For this--to be cornuted in mine age
And die a by-word?
My purposes! My purposes! O, God!
Our purposes are little nine-pins
Which fate's sure aim bowls down incessantly:
As fast as we can set them up, events
Roll down the narrow alleys of our lives,
Rumbling like distant thunder as they speed,
Till crash! our king-intent is down, and in
His fall share all his puny retinue!
She an adulteress! My Hester, whom
I cherished as my soul! How I loved her!
Forgotten, like the meat of yesterday,
Let it pass!
Henceforth, for me there's nothing on this side
Of Hell, but study of revenge on him
Who wrought her shame. He must have used foul means;
For she was ever chaste in thought and deed.
Hell fiend! Now, under an assumed name,
I'll ferret out her lusty paramour;
Contrive some means to deeply punish him,
And satisfy my fathomless revenge. [_Exit._
SCENE II.--_Another street. Enter REV. ARTHUR DIMSDELL, alone._
_Dimsdell._ 'Twould do no good.--The Governor is late,
Or I have missed him.--Confess?--Disgrace for me;
No help to her; and all the blasphemies
That evil minds could cast on sacred calling
Would be my blame. Whereas, I now can make
My pleas take on the color of mine office
And yet reflect on it a purer glow.--
Why comes he not?--The path of righteousness,
Though straight, leads on thro' pleasant fields to Heaven,
Whereas the broad and easy road of sin
Splits in its downward way, and then the will
Stands at a halt which fork to take, though both
Lead on to Hell! Now--why, here he comes!
_Enter GOVERNOR, attended._
_Governor._ Nay, Dimsdell, plead no more; she must be tried.
I know what thou wouldst say, and like thee for it;
But think, my friend, the law would mock itself
If pardon did precede the penalty.
_Dimsdell._ Our Lord did pardon one was taken in
The very act. O, think of Him!
_Governor._ Enough!
What! wouldst thou have our laws contemned
As feeble nets to catch the smaller fry
And let the great break through? I tell thee, sir,
Her wealth, her beauty, her hitherto fair fame,
Blacken her crime and make its punishment
A signal warning to the baser sort.
_Dimsdell._ Hath she not suffered pains and imprisonment?
Enough to answer all the decalogue?
_Governor._ I stand for law; and you, I think, do think
You stand for gospel.--Come, we tarry.--
Plead with the Council for the woman, and, while
I think her death were well deserved, I'll not
Oppose their mercy if you win it.
My hand upon it. [_Going._
_Dimsdell._ If that she be condemned,
Suspend her sentence till her paramour
Be found; and let them die together.
_Governor._ Agreed. Come, we're late. [_Exeunt._
SCENE III.--_The Market Place.--Church with Portico, L.--A pillory
on a raised Platform, R.--The GOVERNOR and COUNCIL seated in
portico.--A crowd of TOWNSFOLK._
_Governor._ Now that our other business is dispatched,
Call Hester Prynne.
_Wilson._ Wise Governor, and you,
My brethren: dried as I am with age,
The tendrils of my heart are pliable;
Nor have the tangles of this thicket-world
So twisted all my grain as not to bend
Before another's misery. Wherefore,
I do beseech you, call her not.
_Governor._ Yet must
We try the woman, though we pity her;
And though the scion mercy grafts upon
The stock of justice, the stock is justice still.
_Wilson._ I plead for justice! even-handed justice!
As blind and cold as death--but with a sword,
Sharp on one side to reach the woman's heart
And on the other keener for the man's!
You call the woman; where's her paramour?
_Governor._ We do not know.
_Wilson._ Then grant a stay to Hester
Till he's known.
_Governor._ Too late; nor were it good
To let the woman slap the face of law,
And not resent it quickly. Once again,
Call Hester Prynne. The man she may discover.
_Enter Rev. ARTHUR DIMSDELL through crowd and goes to Portico._
_Crier._ Hester Prynne! Hester Prynne! [_Exit._
_Dimsdell._ Most worthy Governor, I am like one
Who waking hears the village clock toll time,
Yet, having missed the first few strokes, the hour
He cannot tell: and so stand I and hear
Fair Hester called. Is it for trial, or
For punishment?
_Governor._ For both.
_Dimsdell._ I am her pastor and I speak for her;
I would to God that I could plead "Not guilty,"
Or in her stead could offer up myself
To satisfy the law!
_Crowd._ How good he is!
_Dimsdell._ Gentle and wise she is, grave councilors,
And with a modest meekness goes about
The daily duties of her household care;
Oh! I am sure no vulgar palate-bait
Did lure her to this shame, but some enticement
That took the form of higher nature did
Invest the hook. For she is modesty
Itself.
_Governor._ Can modesty, then, fall like this?
_Dimsdell._ The modesty of woman is like the blush
Upon a tender rose; it is her treasure
And her ornament: you cannot touch it,
But it fades away; or breathe upon it,
But it loses perfume; or bring it to the light,
Unwilted.
_Governor._ True, but when the roses fade
We cast them forth, nor treasure them again.
_Dimsdell._ 'Tis thus I own; but we have higher teaching.
Our Lord, who knew temptation's mighty power,
Yet was himself without sin's damning stain,
Did pass upon a case like this. "Let him
Who hath no sin first cast a stone at her."
And then He said, "Go, woman, sin no more."
Oh! wondrous grace that pardoned frailty
Which had not sunk to vice!
_Re-enter CRIER with HESTER PRYNNE._
_Governor._ Enough! Here comes the woman.
Hester, thou art accused before this court
Of that which blushing virtue shrinks to name,
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._ I would not gloze my crime, nor do I know
How to address your worships.
Yet since you bid me I will plead my cause
As best I can.
That I have sinned is true; and well I know
Henceforth for me there's nothing left from all
My kind but scorn and hate.
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.
Believe me, sirs,
But for my babe's dear love, I'd ask for death
To rid me quickly of my misery:
For love itself, dishonored in my being,
Turns all the gentle cords that bind affection
Into hard-knotted thongs to whip me hence.
Therefore, if I do plead for life, think not
I do beseech a favor for myself,
But rather, that I beg a lingering pain,
Than expiate in one quick-ending pang
The sum of all my loathed wickedness.
Thus, for my tender babe, I ask my life,
And, for myself, I do implore you now,
Banish me not.
As for my crime, I have repented it
Most bitterly; yea, I've suffered anguish
From the very hour when, as the spring
Of nature dragged my anchors loose, the soft
Entreaty of a lover's sigh did blow
Concurrent with my tide, and swept me out
Into a troubled sea.
Now, battered on the rocks of hard opinions,
My most untimely wreck is quite complete;
Yet spare the hulk for that dear freight it bore.
_Governor._ Woman, I pity thee; now, while our laws
Are strict, yet may our mercy show itself
In staving off the penalty, if thou
Wilt aid us.
_Hester._ Your mercy comes with hard condition;
For how can I, who stand here helpless,
Aid you who have all power?
_Governor._ Tell us who is thy paramour?
_Hester._ That I will not do.
_Governor._ Thou art most obstinate. What say you now,
Grave councilors? Need we delay the sentence?
_Bronson._ Quick to forgive and slow in condemnation,
Would be our wisest course in such a case.
The life she hath God gave; we should not take it;
Nor should we banish her, for she is useful,
And with her needle doth assist the poor.
There is provision in our law to fit
This crime when neither death nor banishment
Is proper. It is: [_Reading_] "Th' adulteress shall stand
Upon the pillory; and on her breast
Shall wear a scarlet letter A, to mark
Her criminal incontinence."
_Governor._ A good
Suggestion truly; we had forgot the clause
From long disuse. What say you?
_Ward._ I think it wise.
_Arnold._ 'Twill be more merciful.
_Langdon._ A living warning 'gainst adultery.
_All._ It is our suffrage.
_Governor._ So be it then.
Hester, thou art to stand upon the pillory
A little while, and wear upon thy breast
The Scarlet Letter "A" forever;
This see thou do on pain of instant death
Or banishment. Hath anyone a piece
Of scarlet cloth?
_Bronson._ I have the letter here prepared.
_Governor._ Clerk, affix the letter to her breast.
_Enter ROGER PRYNNE, clad as in Scene I.--He keeps to the rear of
Hester._
Now, Jailer, lead her to the pillory,
There let her stand unbound.
_Hester ascends steps to pillory platform._
Dimsdell, you are her pastor, speak to her.
Hold up her sin before her eyes, and warn
The multitude by her example.
_Dimsdell._ I beg you, sir, let Dr. Wilson speak.
_Wilson._ Nay, Dimsdell. Nay, the charge is yours.
Speak on. And plead that she disclose the man
Who was her paramour.
_Dimsdell._ I pray you pardon me. I am not well.
_Governor._ Not well? 'Tis but compassion weakens thee.
Speak man! thy words are gentlest and will draw
Her secret from her, though ours do seal her lips.
Proceed, Dimsdell.
_Dimsdell._ We wrong her nature when we seek to know
That which her heart doth teach her to conceal;
Yet at your bidding will I plead with her.
_Goes over to pillory._
Hester, look down upon me; let thine ear
Receive my meaning with the sound I make;
Behold in me the body of the Council,
Not me alone; and hear my words as though
The general voice, speaking in concert true,
Did intone them.
For it were vain presumption to expect
That, what the Governor could not extract,
My words alone could move thee to disclose.
_Roger._ A modest gentleman, truly!
_Dimsdell._ Upon thy sin I dwell not; the penalty
Which thou dost suffer preaches repentance;
And in thy nature there is naught to lead thee
Twice astray.
There's not an eye that now doth look upon thee
But pities thee, and doubt thou not, if he
Who wronged thee is present here, his heart is wrung
With bitterest remorse. Wilt speak his name?
_Hester._ I will not.
_Dimsdell._ I do command thee by the Commonwealth,
I do entreat thee for thy reputation,
I do implore thee for thy soul's salvation,
Give up his name.
_Hester._ I would not breathe his name to anyone;
Nay, not to him who was my husband, though
The sea should cast him up to question me.
_Roger._ Woman, who did seduce thee?
_Hester._ I keep my vow.
_Dimsdell._ Hester, deceive thyself no more; look down
Upon me once again. Believe me, Hester,
No pain the world could now inflict would harm
Thy recreant lover. To see thee here set up
The target of a thousand curious eyes,
Thy beauties blistered in the noonday sun,
Thy gentle breast seared with yon scarlet letter,
Would burn that image on his soul. Have mercy,
Hester, forgive his cowardice, do thou
Act for him; pronounce his name and let him die
To satisfy his crime.
_Hester._ I will not drag him down with me.
_Roger._ Oh! glorious generosity misplaced!
_Dimsdell._ Your generosity hath led you once
Astray; do not allow it now to aid
Him in hypocrisy. For, Hester, you,
Who know his weaknesses and aspirations,
His station in his calling, his place in life
Among us, will be a party to deception
If now you hide his name.
_Hester._ I answer to my God. No man shall know
That which is only known to me and him.
But speak thou on his crime!
_Dimsdell._ Ho! all ye people of the commonwealth!
Behold!--let him confess!--O, Hester! speak!--
I see--no more-- [_Dimsdell falls._
_Throng, confused and amazed, closes around Dimsdell.
Cries of horror and apprehension._
_Governor._ Look to our brother Dimsdell. He faints;
The heat hath overcome him.
_Roger._ I am a doctor. Make room!
The falling sickness. Give us breathing space!
_Governor._ Hester, thou art discharged. Let all go home! [_Exeunt._
ACT II.
SCENE I.--_Interior of Hester's home. Furniture Dutch-English,
comfortable and handsome. Windows draped in scarlet-fringed curtains
with scarlet cross-cords, simulating the letter "A." Rich needle
work in the hangings and other accessories. A cradle L., near it a
table with a quarto Bible. HESTER discovered bending over cradle,
then sits R.C. and takes up a piece of embroidery (the letter "A" in
scarlet on a dark background)._
_Hester._ God bless the little darling, how she sleeps!
Had I but thought that all my heart would beat
Within the tender compass of her arms,
I had not prayed she might not be. But now,
Although unasked she came, unasked she brought
A wealth of love and blessing to my soul.
[_Sits and embroiders._]
Thus Providence, although it pierce the heart,
Works into it some glorious design;
Which on this under side of life is blurred,
Thread over thread in infinite confusion.
Or, if we are not made of firmest texture,
The work pulls through, or tears an ugly rent,
Or gathers up our woof in meshy tangles.
This is a world of worn and fretted ends,
Knit in a maze of fearful intricacy,
Wherein we see no meaning. Nor can we know
The hidden shuttles of Eternity,
That weave the endless web of living, loving,
And begetting, whereby a filament
Of earth takes on the likeness of an angel.
The primal burden of our race-existence,
Mankind's perpetual perpetuation,
Weighs on weak womanhood; we bear the race
And all its natural ills, yet still our fellows,
Who proudly call themselves our lords and masters,
Do heap upon us petty wrongs, and load
Us down with their oppressions. I cannot tell
What rich reward my suffering may bring,
But bide the piercing, like this patient cloth,
In hope the needle carries golden thread.
_Enter a_ Maid-Servant.
What is it?
_Servant._ Madam, a gentleman would speak with you.
_Hester._ Bid him enter. [_Exit Servant._
Methought I heard my husband's dreaded voice
Speak to me on the pillory. What
If he lives, or hath arisen from the dead
To reckon with me now? Well, let him come;
For this strong heart outcast from sympathy
Hath turned back on itself in double strength;
And all the puny woman of my mind,
Burned in the furnace of my sex's scorn,
Plunged in the icy vat of love's neglect,
Hath tempered hard. I fear him not.
_Enter ROGER PRYNNE, shaved, and dressed as a doctor of medicine._
Roger himself!
_Roger._ Thou didst provide snug quarters, Hester, against my
coming. Aye, and hast furnished them better than I bade thee.
_Hester._ The cost was small; my needle and my energy--
_Roger._ Have done the work; yea, and supplied the cradle also. Ah!
'tis a brave piece of work; very beautiful and delicate; the lusty
offspring of lustful parents. Somewhat costly, I should think, and
asked some pains. Methinks, thou hadst some help with that; or was
it thy needle or thy energy which wrought this dainty bit?
_Hester._ Touch not the child; 'tis mine, thou hast no part in it.
_Roger._ Too true. But calm thyself. I have not harmed the brat, nor
did I touch it. [_Looking around._] I like thy taste, Hester. A
handsome house to hold a handsome woman.
_Hester._ The house is thine; let me and my babe depart.
_Roger._ Nay, keep the house, 'twill shelter you; I do not need it.
_Hester._ I will not have it.
_Roger._ Will not, Madam Hester, is a strong word to use to your
wedded lord and master. I say you shall; yea, and, furthermore, here
is provision for the child and thee.
[_Throwing purse upon the table._]
_Hester._ Take up thy purse. I who have done thee wrong will not
henceforth eat thy bread.
_Roger._ Wrong, Hester. Done me wrong? Wronged me? Nay, Hester,
wronged thyself; wronged thine innocent babe; wronged the world;
wronged whom thou wilt, but not wronged me! To wake me from a doting
dream--that was not wrong! A dream of woman's purity and innocence;
a foolish dream of married happiness between thy youth and my
decrepitude; to put an end to such a madness, surely was not wrong!
Wronged me? Thy levity hath righted my poor mind, which, pondering
o'er thy beauties, listed to one side.
_Hester._ Oh! pardon me!
_Roger._ Pardon thee? yea, why should I not? I do pardon thee; yea,
more, I do applaud thine act. Thou wast no slothful servant; thou
didst not fear the coming of thy lord; thou puttest all to use and
gottest cent per cent. Therefore, the care I show for thee is hire
and wages; it is thy due, accept it freely.
_Hester._ Let me and my babe depart. Receive thy money and thy
house, I can take nothing from thee. Ah! if I could I would return
thee every penny I have spent of thine.
_Roger._ Wait till I ask thee to account. What! am I so old, and yet
not know the cost of dalliance? Nothing dearer. And he who eared my
field during my absence, being now, in thy abasement, so chary of
his presence, spent little of his gold, I'll warrant. Who is he,
Hester?
_Hester._ Thou shalt never know.
_Roger._ Never's a long word, Hester; it stretches beyond the
judgment into eternity. Come, I'll know him then, tell me now.
_Hester._ He is a scholar and can cope with thee; thou canst not
find him.
_Roger._ If he do walk the earth, I'll find him out; if he be now in
Hell, I'll follow him; where'er he be, his peace is forfeited and I
will--
_Hester._ What wilt thou do to him?
_Roger._ Nothing, Hester, nothing. I merely wish to thank him for
the love he showed thee during my absence, whereby thou didst mourn
for me the less.
_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?
_Hester._ Nay, do not harm him.
_Roger._ At thy request, mistress.
_Hester._ The fault was mine.
_Roger._ No doubt 'twas thine alone.
_Hester._ Wreak vengeance then on me alone.
_Roger._ I have none.
_Hester._ I would I could believe thee.
_Roger._ As well give faith to me as him. But, truly, Hester, I had
thought these puritans, these pilgrim fathers, had left all fleshly
lusts behind them with their vanities in England. He must be a rare
bird in these parts--O, I shall know him by his plumage!
_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.
_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?
_Roger._ Hester, I loved thee when thou wast a babe,
A prattling child no taller than my knee,
A pretty little innocent, a tot
That wavered in its walk and won my heart
By tender trustfulness. Thou'dt leave thy father,
Mother, all, to nestle in these arms
The whiles I told some worn out fairy tale,
Or sang of Robin Hood.
That was before thy mind did take its shape,
And subsequent events have blotted out
All memories of thy babyhood.
_Hester._ Nay, but I do recall, as in a haze,
Some of the incidents of infancy.
_Roger._ Perhaps. Hester, thou wast the dearest child
That ever blest fond parents, unfolding sweet
Thy mother's beauties and thy father's strength.
And canst thou now remember who made himself
A child to play with thee vain, foolish games;
Who taught thee out of books such lessons as
Thy little mind could grasp?
_Hester._ It was thou.
_Roger._ Then, as thou didst grow toward womanhood,
Some fifteen springs, thy gentle mother died;
A woman beautiful and pure, as sweetly
Ignorant of all her charms as is
The hyacinth.
_Hester._ Mother! Mother!
_Roger._ Pray God the saints see nothing here on earth:
Or else that in their golden paradise
Some sleepy potion dull their sympathies
With us: for who could look upon this world,
And see mankind divested of the lies
That make our comeliness; or, with an eye undimmed,
Behold the brutal tragedies of life;
And yet find happiness or peace in Heaven?
Hell's flames would reach unto the tree of life
Itself and singe thy mother's heart, if she
Could see that scarlet letter on thy breast.
[_Hester covers her face and moans._]
Great God! what thread of continuity
Doth string the whirling incidents of life?
This woman was that maid whose purity
Excelled imagination's greatest reach;
Whose happiness sang ever like the lark
Arising from the earth to soar in Heaven!
And now behold her dyed in scarlet sin,
Branded with infamy, and moaning here
In deepest anguish!
Nay, come; let out thy grief in linked words,
For this tooth-gated dumb remorse will herd
Thy thoughts until they gore each other.
Hester, thy strength is greater than to yield
Thus to thy misery; do not lash
Thy heart into a fury; never blow
The tiny sparks of pain
Into the flaming coals of Hell.
That sinning soul is traitor to itself
That leagues its bruised thoughts with imps of Hell
To torture conscience.
_Hester._ Leave me, I pray you.
_Roger._ Not yet, else were my visit bootless.
Hester, I will not dwell upon thy life
From year to year, nor drag thy colliered soul
Back to its days of spotless innocence.
Thy father's amity for me, thou knowest,
And how, upon his death, I stood toward thee
In place of parents.
_Hester._ Would you had remained a father to me!
_Roger._ I loved thee, Hester; daughter, sister, sweetheart,
You were to me. And you did love me too,
And as an elder brother looked on me
In gentle confidence.
So did the years post by in th' dim afterglow
That comes to aged men; while love with thee
Was in the dawning; a tender sky with both
Of us, my sun already set; and thine
Not yet arisen; nor did it ever rise
To shine on me, fool that I was!
_Hester._ I never loved you, should not have married you;
Knew nothing then of love except the name.
_Roger._ Aye, you loved me, and you loved me not;
Hester, I wronged thee when I married thee;
The fault was mine, old as I was, to hope
To still the sweet necessities of youth
With passionless love; nature demands her due,
And we should know, while love may grow at home,
Passion requires some novelty.
_Hester._ We both have done foul wrong unto each other,
And, as this world doth judge, mine is the greater.
_Roger._ Yet thou wast tempted by thy youth, my absence,
A handsome lover's importunity:
But what can be said for me, old as I was,
To drive and badger thy chaste ignorance
To marry mine infirmities?
_Hester._ How can I right this wrong?
_Roger._ And wouldst thou if thou couldst?
_Hester._ Aye, if I could; but yet these broken lives,
Cracked by my fall, no putty will make whole.
_Roger._ Yet canst thou veil my ruin, and o'er me hang
The drapery of silence. Dost consent?
_Hester._ Aye, but how?
_Roger._ But swear to me thou wilt conceal my name,
Nor ever claim relationship with me,
Until I bid thee.
_Hester._ Wherefore the vow?
_Roger._ Because I wish it;
Perhaps, because I would not bear the scorn,
The petty taunts, the contumelious looks,
That ever greet the cuckold husband.
_Hester._ Then will I take the oath.
_Roger._ Swear by the book, and also by the babe,
Never to breathe my rightful name;
Never to claim me as thy husband;
Never to leave this place.
_Hester._ Wherefore not leave the place?
_Roger._ Swear, woman, swear!
Never to leave this place, until I bid thee.
_Hester._ I swear to all these things.
_Roger._ Swear once again; never to tell thy paramour
Thy husband lives and walks these streets.
_Hester._ I swear to keep thy counsel as I have kept
His and mine own.
_Roger._ Remember then, from this time on, my name
Is Chillingworth, no longer Prynne, for that
I will not bear. [_Going_] Hester, farewell.
Yet ere I go, Hester, behold my mind:
I love thee still; but with a chastened heart
Made wise by sorrow. Day after day, as thou
Dost wend thy way about this mazy world,
My care will shield thee and thy little babe.
Do not repulse it. I have no hope that thou
Wilt think of me without revulsion;
Then hate me if thou must; but spare the thought
That ever thou didst take my hateful kisses,
Or clasp those soft warm arms about my thin,
Cold carcass.
Do not despise thy beauties that I once
Did own them. Forget it, Hester, for such a marriage
Was my infamy, and I it was
Who sinned against thy youth. Farewell! [_Exit._
SCENE II.--_A Churchyard. A bell ringing for service. Groups of
people standing about. Persons cross stage and enter church door on
extreme L._
_Bronson._ They say the Reverend Master Dimsdell hath
Recovered from his fainting fit, and will,
God willing, preach to us this afternoon.
_Langdon._ Aye, that he will.
_Arnold._ But hath he come?
_Ward._ Not yet;
He's late, but, whether here or elsewhere,
He's always doing good.
_Bronson._ A kindly man!
His feet do tread th' o'ergrown path that leads
Unto the poor man's door.
_Langdon._ Aye, that they do!
And, in the darkened hour of mortal grief,
His presence like a lamp gives light and hope.
_Arnold._ His charity exceeds all human bounds,
And, though he's blameless in himself, knows how
To pardon others.
_Ward._ Aye, that he doth! Didst note
His plea for Hester Prynne upon her trial?
_Langdon._ Aye, that I did!
_Ward._ But know the goodness of it!
He was her constant friend up to the time
Her wantonness declared itself, and then
He left her lonely, as though that punishment
Were all a man of mercy could inflict.
_Arnold._ He takes it much to heart that wanton vice
Hath found a nest within his congregation.
_Langdon._ That grief is truly great with him; but yet
He will not hear a word against her.--Look!
For here she comes.
How bravely doth she wear her scarlet letter!
_Enter HESTER PRYNNE alone; walks proudly, with slow steps, to porch
and enters church; looking neither to the right nor to the left, but
straight before her, with her head up. People turn to look at her,
but no one speaks._
_First Woman._ The brazen thing!
_Second Woman._ Didst note the fashion of her badge of vice,
And how she's turned it into ornament?
_Third Woman._ A handy woman with her needle.
_First Woman._ Let's in and stare her out of countenance.
[_Exeunt Women._
_Enter GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM and ROGER PRYNNE, called Doctor
Chillingworth._
_Governor._ Now, as I told you, there hath lately come,
But how I know not, a change in him so rare,
It baffles cure.
_Roger._ I think you said he is
A very studious man?
_Governor._ Aye, that he is.
Good evening, gentlemen.
_All._ Your worship.
_Roger._ I pray you, tell me more.
_Governor._ Nay, use your eyes,
For here he is.
_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
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! That man
Is but the standing ruin of his former self,
And yet, for beauty, comeliness and grace,
He still is model to the colony.
What do you think, can care restore him yet,
And give him to us as he used to be?
_Roger._ I cannot tell. I need more knowledge of him.
There are no marks of cureless malady--
A faint suggestion of overwatchfulness,
That oft points out the student--nothing more.
_Hymn from church. (Tune: "_Ein' feste Burg_" or other ancient hymn
used by the Puritans.)_
_Governor._ The worship hath begun; but, ere we in,
A word about the wealth you left with me.
_Roger._ No more. Pray use it as your own, in trade,
Or howsoe'er you choose. The largest pearl
An Indian chief did give me; but sell it with
The rest, and with their worth provide for Hester.
She is the widow of mine ancient friend,
To whom I ever shall be much indebted,
And while I would not have her know me yet
As what I am--her husband's friend and hers--
As that might breed more grief in her, or wake
An old one--yet I think it meet to care
For her and for her child.
_Governor._ Your goodness is
Your passport, Doctor. Come, let us in.--Nay,
After you; you are my guest. [_Exeunt._
SCENE III.--_Bed room of the REV. ARTHUR DIMSDELL. Night. DIMSDELL,
alone in the dark._
_Dimsdell._ O, she is beautiful!
The memory of her loveliness
Pervades my waking dreams, and, pleasant theft,
Deprives my sleep of dark oblivion.
And thus, while fleeing from the gentle bonds
Of love, I am become the thrall of passion,
And sigh my heart away in waste desire!
Had I but truly loved her,
Would not our joys, that then were innocent,
Have moulded soul to soul and made mine take
The form of her most dear perfections?
But, now!
No trait of Hester's noble purity
Remains with guilty me, for I purloined
Her precious diadem and like a rogue
I cast that crown away, afraid to wear
What would have been my dearest ornament.
Why can I not repent? Or is it true
Repentance is denied the hypocrite?
And must it then forever be that, though
I cast out sin, both root and branch, the seed
Of evil, scattered long ago, will sprout
And bloom carnation thoughts that dull the soul
With subtle sweetness!
Oh! coward that I am!
Bound down, as to a rock, to form and place,
By iron chains of worldly precedent,
While my desires like eagles tear my breast,
And make of me a base Prometheus.
O, God!
I married all the family of sins,
When I espoused the pleasantest; I am
Become a liar through my lechery,
A thief of reputation through my cowardice,
And--puh! the rest but follow in the train
Of my dear wedded crime!
O, God! and shall this lust burn on in me
Still unconsumed? Can flagellation, fasting,
Nor fervent prayer itself, not cleanse my soul
From its fond doting on her comeliness?
Oh! heaven! is there no way for me to jump
My middle age and plunge this burning heart
Into the icy flood of cold decay?
None? O, wretched state of luxury!
This hot desire grows even in its death
And from its ashes doth arise full fledged
Renewed eternally!
_A blinding flash of lightning, followed quickly by sharp thunder,
discloses Dimsdell kneeling at his couch, and also shows SATAN--an
archangel with bat wings--who has just entered._
Have mercy upon me, O, my God, have mercy!
According to thy gentle lovingkindness,
According to the multitude of all
Thy tender mercies, blot out my foul transgression.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow;
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out
All mine iniquities.
_Satan._ You mar the psalm, Sir priest, for you omit
The saving clause. Your sin is unconfessed.
_Dimsdell._ Who art thou that durst interpose between
My soul and God?
_Satan._ I am the stronger part of lower nature,
The worser part of all that came from Him
Whom all adore. Behold me!
_Satan becomes visible by light emanating from himself._
_Dimsdell._ Thou art Satan! The Prince of Hell!
_Satan._ I am so called.
_Dimsdell._ Get thee hence! I am a minister
Of God, a priest, and am anointed of the Lord
To teach His children.
_Satan._ And, therefore, am I come to thee, Sir priest.
I do confess a predilection for
Thy calling; conclaves, synods, convocations,
Are never held without my guiding presence;
They are my field days and my exercises,
While in the study and the cell I take
My cloistered ease. I love all priests and am
The bosom friend of many who would blush
To speak to me in public. Receive me, brother.
_Dimsdell._ Scorner, avaunt! Sink to the hell from whence
Thou cam'st! I do abhor thee, Satan; yea,
I tell thee to thy face that I who quail
Before the awful majesty of God,
And cowardly do hide my sin from man,
I tell thee, vile as I am, I do detest
Thy very name! I do defy thee!
_Satan._ These words are very brave; if more than wind,
Go to the market place tomorrow, there
Proclaim thy vice; or else ascend thy pulpit
And denounce thyself as what thou art, adulterer.
_Dimsdell._ Recreant to my God am I; think'st thou
That I will thee obey, to whom I owe
No deep allegiance?
_Satan._ Then bare thy sinful breast, for here I swear,
By that dread Name which mortals cannot hear,
I will upon thee print a mark, the stigma
Of thy secret crime.
_Dimsdell._ Hold off! I charge thee by that other Name
Of Him who rent thy kingdom, and will destroy it,
Touch me not yet!
Almighty Purity, Dread Essence Increate;
Behold concentrate, in this wicked form,
The universal spirit of iniquity.
Come quickly in thy majesty, O Lord!
Wither him here within the awful flame
Of Thy bright Holiness! Shrivel his frame
Into an atom, and blow the lifeless dust
Beyond the farthest star.
And, if in his destruction my soul should share
Through close proximity, spare not!
Then will Thy servants serve Thee, Gracious Lord!
And mankind find its paradise!
_Satan._ That was well said!
Perhaps, Sir priest, you now will treat me to
A learned disquisition on the birth
Of evil? I'd like to hear it, if it tread
Beyond theology's well beaten path;
But, if it stumbles in the pug-mill round
Of teleology, you must excuse me.
_Dimsdell._ Base siege of scorn! I curse thee!
_Satan._ Curses but belch foul wind, they pass beyond me.
But, come; I have no time to waste with thee;
This visitation had not been, nor would
I dignify thy carnal slip by my
Incarnate presence, but for thy perfidy.
For thou hast reached a depth of moral baseness
Below the meanest fiend in lowest hell;
Thou hast deserted her who sinned with thee,
Gave up her virtue to express her love,
Laid down her treasure to thy secret lust,
And then took up thy burden with her own.
Think not I come to draft thee of my legions,
I would not have so weak, so mean a coward,
To sow pale fear among them. No!
Thou wilt be damned outside of Hell. I come
To show, as in a mirror, what thou art;
Not what thou shalt be. The past and present both
Are mine, the future rests with God. But now,
_Hester's image appears in a cloud dressed in white._
Behold the woman as thou first didst know her,
A loveliness to tempt or saint or devil,
The rare quintessence of pure womanhood!
Transparent brightness! A living crystal globe,
Wherein all beauties of humanity
Reflect themselves with iridescent glow!
Dost thou remember?
Behold her now the mother of thy babe,
_The image of Hester changes. She holds their babe in her arms._
Whose pretty wiles would win hard Moloch's heart;
Make him forget his rites, and turn man-nurse.
O, fool! I would renounce my war with Heaven,
Eat up my pains in one most bitter mouthful,
And sue for pardon from God's hated Throne,
If such an offspring might but call me father!
Where is thy manly pride?
But, now, behold her shamed, bearing the badge
_Hester's image wears Scarlet Letter "A."_
Of thy foul infamy. Tear wide thy shirt,
For as thou look'st on her I will impress
Upon thy breast a stigma worse than hers.
Aye, fall upon thy knees to worship her
The Lady of the Scarlet Letter.
Yet while thou kneel'st thy flesh doth glow and burn
_Scarlet Letter "A" glows on Dimsdell's breast._
With all the deep red heraldry befits
A coward lust: the latter "A" in gules
Upon thy sable heart. There let it gnaw
Forever and forever!
_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._
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; and, now the scent
Is cold, the curs that yelp in scandal's pack
Bay loud on many faults, but cannot trace him.
_Enter DIGGORY._
_Diggory._ Doctor, the Governor will join you presently.
_Roger._ Diggory, I will await him patiently. [_Sits._
_Diggory retires, then returns._
_Diggory._ Doctor, may I beg a word with you?
_Roger._ A thousand if you will.
_Diggory._ I would speak in confidence.
_Roger._ The manner would become thee, Diggory.
But speak, man! Say on.
_Diggory._ I need a philter, Doctor. For the love of mercy--
_Roger._ For the love of good liquor, Diggory, thou shalt have
twenty filters. Still decanting?
_Diggory._ O, sir! not that kind of filter. I'm in love!
_Roger._ Ah! thou art in love? In love didst thou say?
_Diggory._ Aye, sir, if it please you.
_Roger._ It pleases me well enough; how doth it please the lady?
_Diggory._ She's not a lady, sir, thank God! she's but a simple
maiden, and it pleaseth her not.
_Roger._ A simple maid refuses you! Ah! Diggory, Diggory, be
thankful for the good things God hath sent thee.
_Diggory._ Truly, sir, I thank Him ev'ry day; but, sir, as I do
desire the maiden--I--I--would have her too.
_Roger._ And so, Diggory, thou wouldst have me aid thee in this
folly, and give thee a love potion?
_Diggory._ Aye, sir, begging your honor's pardon.
_Roger._ But why dost thou ask me, Diggory? Dost thou take me for an
herb-doctor, or a necromancer, or what?
_Diggory._ My master, the Governor, says you are a very learned man,
a what-you-call-'em--a scientist; and a scientist can do anything.
_Roger._ Humph!--Diggory, I do not deal in philters; they are out of
date--but I know a charm will win her love.
_Diggory._ Tell it me for the love of--
_Roger._ Thou wilt betray it, Diggory.
_Diggory._ Never! Never!
_Roger._ Omit thou but a word of it, and the maiden's lost to
thee--but con it well, and all her beauties will be thine.
_Diggory._ Oh! Doctor!
_Roger._ Take of the rendered grease of three black bears--do not
fail in that--anoint thy curly locks--
_Diggory._ My hair is straight.
_Roger._ Never mind--but rub; and, as thou dost, repeat these words:
_Lady love, lady love, where e'er thou be,
Think of no man but only me;
Love me, and wed me, and call me thine own,
Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling, Joan._
_Diggory._ What is that "Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling"?
_Roger._ That is the chief element of the charm--don't forget it.
Having done this on nine successive days--dost thou follow me?
_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.
_Roger._ Very well. [_Exit Diggory, trying to recall the verse._
Ah! Diggory, thou art but a dram of love in a fluid ounce of fool! And
so may we label all mankind. For instance: the Governor is a wise
man and a politic; Wilson a good man and a pious; Dimsdell--ah!
there I pause, for what fine formula can sum the qualities of that
same Arthur Dimsdell? He's not a fool; nor mad; nor truly
cataleptic--yet he's moody, falls in trance, and I suspect his power
as a preacher comes from ecstasy. Something he is akin to
genius--yet he hath it not, for though his aim be true enough, he
often flashes in the pan when genius would have hit the mark. I'll
write his case in Latin! What a study that would be if I could
first find out the reason why he clutches at his breast!--If once I
find him in a trance, alone--ah! here they come.
_Enter GOVERNOR BELLINGHAM, REV. JOHN WILSON, REV. ARTHUR DIMSDELL,
and following them, with a tray of wine, DIGGORY._
_Wilson._ Good morrow, Doctor.
_Roger._ Good morning, gentlemen.
_Governor._ [_To Diggory._] Leave the wine within the summer house.
Good morning, Doctor. When Mistress Prynne doth come conduct her
hither.
_Diggory._ Sir, she's coming this way now.
_Governor._ Very well. Go. [_Exit Diggory._] Doctor, we debate what
disposition should be made of Hester Prynne's young child. We ask
your aid--but here she is.
_Enter HESTER PRYNNE._
_Hester._ Your worship hath been pleased to summon me
To bring my child before you.
_Governor._ Where is the child?
_Hester._ The babe is sick but answers by attorney.
What is your will?
_Governor._ Some pious matrons, Hester,
Have charged that thou art not a person fit
To rear that infant immortality,
And guide it unto God.
_Hester._ God gave the child
In rich exchange for all things else which I,
Poor sinful I, had forfeited; and now
You, who have made yourselves the flails of God,
Would separate the wheat from chaff before
The grain is ripe, and take her from me.
Oh! ye are wise! No doubt ye see beyond
The purpose of Almighty God who gave
The child to me!
_Governor._ Nay, take it not to heart,
For, Hester, duty to the child we owe
To put its soul upon the way that leads
To Heaven. She will be cared for tenderly.
_Hester._ She is the last small link that binds my soul
To earth, the tiny needle that doth point
My way to Heaven. You shall not take her from me!
Speak thou for me [_To Dimsdell_]; as my pastor speak;
Speak now; and say if any harm from me
Will hurt the child. I will not part with her!
Say if thou canst, for thou hast sympathies
Which these men lack, say what the mother's rights
Are in her child; and what those rights must be
When naught beside the child is left to her--
Her husband gone, her friends deserted,
No reputation, no sympathy, no love--
But only those twin brands of shame, her baby
And The Scarlet Letter!
_Dimsdell._ I have a dual duty to discharge;
I am this woman's pastor--and her friend,
And therefore she hath called me to defend her;
I am, beside, a member of your council,
And hence am with you in your consultation;
And yet, I think, these duties may be made
To yoke and draw me to a just conclusion.
_Wilson._ Thou also hast a duty to the child.
_Dimsdell._ Aye, so I have. Our aim is well enough,
But let us pause before we do adopt
A means that varies from the one marked out
By God and Nature.
_Governor._ Is there not command
To teach our children in the fear of God
And guide them from impurity?
_Dimsdell._ God gave us mothers when He gave us life,
And to their tender care He did entrust
The mortal and immortal parts of us.
What then? Would we improve upon His system;
Would we now deprive this little one
Of that fond mother-care which nurtures her?
Or would we put, in place of mother-love,
The cold, hard, formal training of a paid
Instructor?
_Governor._ 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.
_Roger._ Yea, and earnestness!
_Governor._ Well, Hester, go thy way; the child is thine.
Remember thou dost owe a gentle thanks
Unto this pious man. Go, Hester, keep
The child. Think well upon his words; be thou
A mother in all righteousness, as well
As in thy sin. Farewell.
_Hester._ I thank you, gentlemen. [_Exit._
_Wilson._ That woman would have been a noble wife
Had not some villain robbed her of her dower.
_Governor._ Come, gentlemen, this business well is ended,
And, Dimsdell, yours is all the credit of it;
For one I thank you.
_Roger._ We all do thank you, sir.
_Governor._ Come, let us drain a cup of wine; and then
Go in.
_Dimsdell._ I beg you to excuse me.
_Roger._ And me,
I pray. I'll stay with Dimsdell.
_Governor._ Well, Wilson, you
Shall not escape me. Gentlemen, the wine
We leave you; keep it company.--And, Dimsdell,
Forget it not, to-morrow thou must preach
A grand election sermon. The people do
Expect a master effort, man. Fail not. [_Exeunt Governor and Wilson._
_Roger._ He will not fail them, Governor; a tongue
Of flame is his. What ails thee, Dimsdell?
How now? Why man!
_Dimsdell._ I'm very weak. The pain about my heart--
_Roger._ Nay, courage, man! 'Twill leave thee soon. I'll get a cup of
wine to cheer thee up.
_Dimsdell._ Do, I pray. And, Doctor, give me something to abate this
agony.
_Roger._ I will. [_Exit._
_Dimsdell._ Try how I may, there's no escape from pain.
I robbed the law's strong arm, and thereby put
The lash in conscience' hand--and yet I thought
Hypocrisy a duty to my calling!
'Twere better I were known as what I am,
Than still to hide my sin beneath the garb
Of outward purity! 'Twere better now,
By Hester's side, to bear opprobrium,
And brave what man may do, than still to nurse
This misery in secret!
_Re-enter ROGER with wine-tray; places it upon a bench and, taking a
vial from a pocket medicine-case, pours a few drops into a
wine-glass, then fills the glass with wine._
_Roger._ A minim more would lull him into sleep.
Here is the chance--and here the will--to learn
His secret malady. What holds me back?
Conscience? Tut, tut! It will not harm him!
'Twill do him good to sleep; 'twill do me good
To know the why he clutches at his breast.
I'll do it. [_Pours more from vial._
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._
_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.
_Roger._ Truly, it is a grand inquisitor;
'Twill search each petty heresy that taints
Thy blood, and burn it to a cinder.
_Dimsdell._ How many leagues it came to serve my need.
_Roger._ Aye, a thousand, and a thousand more!
_Dimsdell._ I would not go so far for it just now,
For through my limbs there creeps a lang'rous ease
Like that which doth precede deep slumber.
_Roger._ Rest here upon this bench. [_Dimsdell sits, half reclining._
Give way unto your drowsiness; it is
Not sleep, but rest and relaxation. There!
I'll keep you company.
_Dimsdell._ Do.
_Roger._ [_Pouring wine and drinking._] This wine is liquid gold.
I quaff to your good health and ease of mind.
This is good wine. It warms my chilly blood
With all the dreamy heat of Spain. I hear
The clack of th' castinet and th' droning twang
Of stringed instruments; while there before
Mine eyes brown, yielding beauties dance in time
To the pulsing music of a saraband!
And yet there is a flavor of the sea, [_Sipping wine._
The long-drawn heaving of the ocean wave,
The gentle cradling of a tropic tide;
Its native golden sun--I fear you sleep?
Or do the travels of the wine so rock
Your soul that self is lost in revery?
Why, man, dream not too much of placid bliss;
Nor wine, nor man, can reach this clear perfection
Until they pass the rack of thunder and
Of hurricane.--'Tis on us now! Awake! [_Shouting in Dimsdell's ear._
My friend, awake! Dost thou not hear the storm?
Oh! how it shrieks and whistles through the shrouds!
The awful guns of heaven boom in our ears--
Nay, that was the mainsail gone by the board,
Flapping with cannon roar.
You do not follow me. O, come, I say!
This is no sermon. You cannot be asleep,
Yet feign you are to cheat me of my story.
Wake up, my friend. You carry the jest too far.
_Roger cautiously shakes Dimsdell._
So soon! So sound! [_Looks around._
I fear you are not easy; thus. That's better.
Your pardon, sir, your collar's much too tight.
Now will I steal his hidden mystery,
And learn the secret of his lengthened pain;
Cure him and gain great honor. To think a man
Would case himself in buttons like an armour!
Now, shirt----
Merciful God! what miracle is this!
A stigma! Aye! a stigma! the letter "A"
In blood suffused! The counterpart of that
Which Hester wears, but palpitating here
In life! This is beyond my skill.
Ah! David! David! Thou art the man! Thou wouldst
Have set me in the hot forefront of battle
Hadst thou but known me as Uriah!
Bah!
Why, what a brainless dullard have I been,
To see this pretty puff-ball of a preacher
Wax large before mine eyes in righteous husk--
And think him whole within--when but a touch,
But one, had aired his rottenness!
Oh! dotard that I am! blind, deaf and stupid!
It takes a miracle to make me see
What lay before me open. He did take
Her part; ever professed himself her friend;
And at her trial fell in trance. What more?
He is the man! He is the man!
Now ends our game of hoodman blind; oh, I
Was warm, so very warm at times, so hot,
Did almost touch thee; yet I knew thee not
For him I sought. Thou cunning hypocrite!
It must be I am fitted to my state,
Dull, trusting and incapable;
Or else--why surely I'm a fool.--
Had I been here when Hester bore her child,
I would have fondly dreamed it was mine own;
Put on the unearned pride that old men wear
When their young wives bear children.
A pretty baby, sir! My grandchild?--No;
Mine own; my very own! Nay, wrong me not;
I'm not so old--not so damned old after all!
A ghe! a ghoo! Are not the eyes like mine?--
Yea, would have dandled it upon my knee,
And coddled each succeeding drop, as though
My fires had distilled them.
But--now I know--my knowledge must be hid.
Back shirt! cover blazoned infamy
And let the whited front still hide from man
The sepulchre of crime that festers here.
He will not wake within an hour. I'll go
Inform the Governor he sleeps, and have
Him order none disturb his pious rest.
Then I'll return and calmly probe his soul.
Sleep on! Sleep on! [_Exit Roger._