What is The Scarlet Letter about in chapter 3? chapter 3 scarlet letter

of the
Scarlet Letter is titled "The Reveal" and it is a very important moment in the story
of .

In this chapter we are taken back to when Hester Prynne had just been
sentenced and placed for 3 hours of public humilliation at the scaffold.

We
also know that her child is around 8 or 9 months old and that she is also on the scaffolding
with her mother receiving the hisses and insults from the people of the settlement.

The most important part of this chapter, however, is that a certain man from out of
town, a stranger, is looking closely at Hester while he is being told by one of the people of
the town what Hester did and that she was punished to wear a scarlet letter A for the remainder
of her natural life. This strange man asked if anyone knows who is the father of Hester's child,
to which the townsman replies that Hester will not tell.

We know here that
the stranger has also gotten the attention of Hester, who is terrified at him more than she is
of the crowd, the Governor, or the pastor () who is questioning her in the
scaffolding.

We learn later that this strange man is her presumed-dead
husband whose new name is Robertand is in town ready to destroy Hester and to find out who was
the man who got her in that condition.

Another important happening of this
chapter is that Hester outright refused to give out the name of the father of the child even at
the insistence of both Rev. Wilson and Rev. Dimmesdale. Although later on we know that it is
Dimmesdale whom she had the affair with, it is interesting to see how sheepishly he asks her to
reveal the name of the man who got her pregnant, even taking the risk of her breaking down and
revealing it. But to notice the solid character of Hester in resisting we also get a glimpse of
her passionate nature and we can foreshadow that she is a fearless and dignified woman who was
accused harshly.