This chapter is a variation on the preceding one and develops more fully Hawthorne’s contrast between God’s laws as interpreted through nature and God’s laws as interpreted by man. Dimmesdale is sorely tempted by the idea of fleeing. He is the chief proponent of the religious tenets in this Puritan community (see “The Puritan Setting of The Scarlet Letter” in the Critical Essays). Because the Puritans believe that God allows redemption only for the elect and that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace, Dimmesdale rationalizes that he is a doomed soul and is momentarily attracted to “the solace allowed to the condemned culprit before his execution.” He feels he is already a condemned.
By removing the symbols of Puritan law (the scarlet letter) and Puritan society (the formal cap that confined her hair), Hester is transformed from the dull, drab, gray “fallen woman” into the passionate, voluptuous human who follows natural law and expresses her love for Dimmesdale. Nature shows its support for her actions as the sunshine follows her. Dimmesdale relies on her to redeem him and believes she can provide the mercy and forgiveness he has not felt at the hands of God. Taking off the scarlet letter, Hester seems to release them both from an earthly prison. But there is one last hurdle to cross: the meeting between Pearl and Dimmesdale.
