Explore "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
Hester Prynne was extremely agitated upon returning to the prison. She was kept under constant watch for fear that in her emotional state she might injure herself or her child. But, despite scolding and threats of punishment, she couldn’t be calmed. As night approached, Master Brackett, the jailer, called a doctor—a man trained in both Western medicine and the roots and herbs of the Indians. In truth, the doctor was desperately needed, but more for the baby than for Hester. It seemed as though the child had absorbed Hester’s emotions—her pain and despair—when she drank in her milk. The baby writhed in pain, a living symbol of the moral agony Hester Prynne had suffered.
The jailer entered the prison cell. Following closely behind him was the oddly dressed stranger from the crowd, who had been of such interest to Hester. He was staying in the prison, not because he was suspected of any crime, but only until the magistrates and the Indian chiefs could agree on the price of his ransom. His name was announced as Roger Chillingworth. After leading the man into the cell, the jailer marveled at how quiet the prison had become. Though the baby was still crying, Hester Prynne was as still as death.