The Scarlet Letter Characters
Every major character in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, with a portrait, who they are and the chapters they appear in.
Hester PrynneProtagonist · 24 chaptersA resilient Puritan woman publicly shamed for adultery who raises Pearl and endures life wearing the scarlet letter.
PearlMajor character · 21 chaptersHester Prynne’s seven-year-old daughter, a wild, perceptive child who embodies the town’s judgment and her mother’s punishment.
Arthur DimmesdaleMajor character · 16 chaptersThe young, revered minister of Puritan Boston who wrestles with secret guilt and physical frailty.
Roger ChillingworthAntagonist · 15 chaptersAn older scholar-physician who secretly seeks revenge on Hester’s unnamed lover, gradually becoming consumed by vengeance.
Governor BellinghamMajor character · 9 chaptersThe colony’s wealthy magistrate who enforces Puritan law and presides over Hester’s public judgment and the inquiry into Pearl’s custody.
Mistress HibbinsMinor character · 8 chaptersGovernor Bellingham’s widowed sister, a notorious town “witch” who hints at secret sins and tempts transgression.
Reverend John WilsonMajor character · 6 chaptersSenior Puritan minister and public moral authority who helps judge Hester and shepherd the community’s conscience.
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