The Scarlet Letter Chapter 2: Welcome to the Market-Place

If you just finished "The Custom House," get ready! Chapter 2, "The Market-Place," is where the real story of The Scarlet Letter begins. The curtain goes up, and we are thrown right into the middle of the drama in Puritan Boston.

Let's walk through what happens in this important chapter.

1. A Grim Crowd Gathers

The chapter opens in the town square, which Hawthorne calls the "market-place." But this isn't a happy market. A crowd of serious-looking Puritans are standing around, all staring at the door of the local jail.

• The Mood: The feeling is heavy and judgmental. The people are waiting for a sinner to be brought out for public punishment.
• The Women: A group of women are talking loudly. They are especially harsh, saying the woman's punishment should be much worse.
• The Setting: The scene is described as grey and somber, with the dark prison on one side and a cemetery on the other.

It's a scary scene. Imagine everyone you know gathering just to watch you be shamed.

It reminds me of a time in school when I had a crush on a girl. I was too shy to talk to her, so I just admired her from afar. I told one friend, and suddenly the whole class knew. Including her. To make it worse, she wasn't interested. I felt so embarrassed that I just pretended the whole thing was a joke. Having everyone's eyes on you like that, especially when you feel vulnerable, is a terrible feeling.

2. We Finally Meet Hester Prynne

The prison door opens, and out walks our main character, Hester Prynne.

This is the moment the whole book is built on. But she might not be what you expect. Instead of looking ashamed and broken, Hester is proud and defiant. She walks out with her head held high, clutching a baby in her arms.

She is described as beautiful, tall, and elegant. She has a natural dignity that makes the crowd a little uncomfortable. It's a powerful entrance.

I once saw someone giving a presentation when they got hit with a really tough question from the audience. Then, other people joined in, bombarding him with more difficult questions, some of which had nothing to do with his topic. Instead of getting flustered, he just stayed completely calm. He answered the questions he could, politely set aside the ones he couldn't, and then confidently moved on. Seeing him handle that pressure with so much grace was really impressive.

3. The Famous Scarlet Letter

On the chest of Hester's dress is the reason for her punishment: a scarlet letter "A."

But this isn't just a simple letter. Hester has used her amazing sewing skills to make it beautiful.

• What it looks like: It's made of fine red cloth and embroidered with gold thread. It's described as a piece of art.
• What it means: The "A" stands for "Adulterer." This is her sin. She had a baby with a man who was not her husband.
• The crowd's reaction: They are shocked that she made her symbol of shame into something so fancy. It's another sign that she isn't completely broken by her punishment.

I believe Hester made the letter so beautiful as a deliberate choice. A huge theme in the book is that she refuses to be fully shamed by her sin. She could have hidden away or moved to another town, but she doesn't. She stays right there in the community's sight. By making the "A" a piece of art, she's taking control of her punishment. It's her way of saying, "You can't break me. I will own this."

4. The Scaffold: A Stage of Shame

Hester is led through the crowd to a wooden platform called the scaffold.

Think of it as a stage in the middle of town. But instead of being for a fun show, it was a place where criminals were forced to stand for hours so everyone could stare at and insult them. This was a common form of punishment back then. It was all about public humiliation.

It's interesting to think about a modern-day scaffold because we don't really have a direct equivalent anymore. The closest thing might be seeing a person's mugshot blasted on the news after they've been arrested. But even then, our society has moved away from public shaming as an official punishment. We have courtrooms for judgment, but the goal isn't to make someone stand for hours while the whole town stares. The scaffold was a unique and cruel form of public humiliation that has thankfully been left in the past.

5. Hester's Mind Escapes

As she stands on the scaffold, with hundreds of eyes on her, Hester's mind starts to drift away.

She has a series of flashbacks. She thinks about:

• Her childhood home in England.
• The faces of her parents.
• A "misshapen" older man with tired eyes—her husband, who she was separated from.

This is her way of coping with the terrible moment. She retreats into her own memories to survive the shame.

At the end of the chapter, Hester returns to reality when she spots a familiar face in the crowd—a man who will change everything.

6. Key Quotes from The Market-Place

Here are a couple of key quotes from this chapter that capture the powerful descriptions of Hester and her punishment.

Quote 1: The Scarlet Letter's First Appearance

This is our first proper look at the symbol that defines the entire novel. Hawthorne describes it not as a simple cloth, but as a work of art.

Modern language: "The letter "A" was on the breast of her gown. It was made of fine red cloth and surrounded by elaborate embroidery and gold thread. It was done artfully. It was rich and crafted with vivid imagination. It seemed a final, fitting adornment to her attire. Her clothes followed the tastes of the age. But, they were far more fancy than the colony’s strict rules allowed."

Original wording: "On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold thread, appeared the letter A. It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore, and which was of a splendour in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony." (Chapter 2)

Quote 2: Hester's Defiant Beauty

The crowd expects to see a woman broken by shame, but Hester emerges from the prison with a surprising and powerful dignity.

Modern language: "Those who had known her before expected to see her dimmed and broken by disgrace. They were astonished to see her beauty shining even brighter. It created a halo around the misfortune and shame enveloping her."

Original wording: "Those who had before known her, and had expected to behold her dimmed and obscured by a disastrous cloud, were astonished, and even startled, to perceive how her beauty shone out, and made a halo of the misfortune and ignominy in which she was enveloped." (Chapter 2)

← Read the guide to Chapter 1: The Custom House

Interested in an easier-to-understand version of The Scarlet Letter with helpful footnotes and explanations? Check out our modernized edition! It makes a classic story accessible and engaging for today's young readers.