The Scarlet Letter, Chapter 24 summary

What happens

1. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts of Dimmesdale’s breast and confession, while the narrator insists on the need for honesty.
2. Chillingworth loses his strength after Dimmesdale’s death and dies within a year, leaving substantial property to Pearl.
3. Hester and Pearl disappear, and years pass without certain news before Hester returns alone to her cottage.
4. Letters, costly gifts, and embroidered baby clothing support the belief that Pearl lives happily abroad.
5. Hester freely resumes her letter, counsels troubled women, and expresses hope for happier relations between women and men.
6. Many years pass before Hester’s burial near an older grave, with one stone marking both.

In this chapter

What to notice

The repeated command states the moral the narrator draws from Dimmesdale’s suffering. It opposes concealment and the witnesses’ efforts to protect his reputation.

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