書蟲4級《紅字》6．赫斯特遇到敵人

6.Hester meets the enemy

That meeting with Mr Dimmesdale on the scaffold worried Hester Prynne greatly. She saw the young priest's weakness and his misery, and how close he was to madness; she heard the terror in his voice as he asked her for help. And she decided he had a right to all the help she could give him.

Her position in the town was now rather different. In the seven years since Pearl was born, Hester had worn the scarlet letter patiently and had led a hard-working and blameless life. People no longer hated her; some even respected her.

She is always ready to give what she can to the poor,' they said, 'although she gets little thanks for the food she takes to them, or the clothes she makes for them.'

And whenever a house was darkened by trouble, Hester was there with warm and kindly words, and the offer of help. But when sunshine came again, she left without looking back or waiting for the grateful thanks of those who had been troubled. And afterwards, when she saw them in the street, she did not lift her head to speak to them but put her finger on her scarlet letter of shame, and passed by.

Beneath her calmness, however, there had often been great loneliness and suffering. These had made her strong and she now felt able to face the man who had once been her husband. It was clear to Hester that this man was the priest's secret enemy, playing the part of a friend and helper, and slowly but surely driving the priest into madness.

In short, she decided to talk to Roger Chillingworth, and to do what she could to stop his cruel and evil revenge.

She did not have long to wait. One afternoon, while walking with Pearl along the beach, she saw the old doctor with a basket in one hand and a stick in the other. He was collecting plants.

Go down to the water and play while I talk to this gentleman,' Hester told her daughter.

The child flew away like a bird, her small white feet making patterns in the wet sand at the edge of the sea. Her mother walked up to Roger Chillingworth.

I would like to speak to you,' she said.

Ah! Mistress Hester!' he answered. 'I hear news of your good work from everyone I speak to. Only yesterday a magistrate whispered to me that the officers of the town were discussing whether the scarlet letter could now be taken off your bosom. "You should do it at once," I told him.'

It is not for some magistrate to take off this letter,' Hester replied calmly. 'When—if ever—I earn the right to be rid of it, it will fall off without anyone's help.'

Wear it, then, if you want to,' said Chillingworth. 'It is a fine piece of needlework and looks well on your bosom.'

While they spoke, Hester had been watching him closely and was full of wonder at the change she saw in him. He was no longer the calm, intelligent man she remembered; now there was a cruel, searching look in his eyes, and a cold half-smile came and went on his face. Seven years of getting enjoyment from a cruel revenge had left the Devil's mark on him. His soul seems to be on fire! Hester thought.

I want to speak to you about Mr Dimmesdale,' she said.

And what about him?' cried Roger Chillingworth. 'Speak freely, and I will answer.'

When we last spoke together, seven years ago,' Hester said, 'you made me promise not to tell anyone that we once lived as husband and wife. I agreed to be silent because, as you said then, his position and his life were in your hands. But I see now that I was wrong to keep silent. Since that day, you have been beside him, sleeping and waking. You search his thoughts and his heart, and each day you cause him to die a living death! And it is I who have allowed this to happen!'

What else can you do?' asked Chillingworth. 'A word from me, and this man would be thrown from his church into a prison—and from there, to the scaffold!'

Perhaps that would be better!' said Hester. 'Haven't you had your revenge? Hasn't he suffered enough for his sins?'

No!' answered the doctor. 'Do you remember me, Hester, as I was nine years ago? You thought I was cold, perhaps, but was I not kind and true, and a good friend to others?'

Yes,' said Hester. 'All that, and more.'

And what am I now?' he asked, and his face showed the evil that was in him. 'A devil! And who made me this?'

It was me,' said Hester, trembling. 'Me, as much as he. So why didn't you punish me?'

You had the scarlet letter,' he said. 'That was enough revenge for me.' He put his finger on it with a smile. 'Now, what do you want to say about this man?'

I must tell him the truth about you,' said Hester. 'He must know who you are, and why you are doing this to him. What the result will be, I do not know. Do what you want with him. But there is no good for him, no good for me, no good for you, no good for little Pearl. There is no path to guide any of us out of this misery.'

Roger Chillingworth stared at the tall, proud woman in front of him, and heard the pain in her voice. Did he then remember the love he had once felt for her?

I am sorry for you,' he said. 'You were a good person, and you needed a better love than mine.'

And I am sorry for you,' said Hester, 'and for the hate that has changed a wise and merciful man into a devil! Try to be human again! Forgive, and leave judgment to God!'

That is not possible,' replied the old man. 'You planted the evil, and now its black flowers are growing. We cannot change the way things are.'

He turned and walked away, and a dark shadow seemed to follow him along the ground.

Hester stared after him. 'I hate the man!' she whispered to herself. 'How I wish I had never married him!' She turned to look for her child. 'Pearl! Little Pearl! Where are you?'

The child had been busy while her mother had been talking. First she had played at the edge of the water, then she had made little boats out of pieces of wood. Then, seeing some birds feeding on the beach, she had picked up some stones and thrown them until one little grey bird had flown away with a broken wing. For her last game, Pearl collected some grass and used it to make a letter A on her chest.

Will Mother ask me what it means?' she wondered.

Then she heard her mother calling and, moving as lightly as one of the little sea-birds, she appeared beside Hester and pointed her finger towards the letter A on her bosom.

My little Pearl,' said Hester, after a moment's silence, 'the green letter means nothing on your childish bosom. But do you know why your mother wears it?'

Oh, yes!' said Pearl, smiling. 'It is for the same reason that the priest puts his hand over his heart!'

And what reason is that?' asked Hester.

I don't know,' replied Pearl. 'Mother, what does this scarlet letter mean? Why do you wear it on your bosom? And why does the priest keep his hand over his heart?'

Hester stared down into her daughter's black eyes. What should she say? The truth? No! If that was the price of the child's understanding, she could not pay it.

Silly Pearl!' she said. 'There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about. What do I know about the priest's heart? And as for the scarlet letter, I wear it for its gold thread.'

It was the first time that Hester had lied about the letter, and the child did not stop asking the same questions. Two or three times on the way home, several times at supper, and again the next morning, Pearl asked, 'Mother, Mother, what does the scarlet letter mean?' and 'Why does the priest keep his hand over his heart?'

Stop it!' Hester said, in a sharper voice than she had ever used before. 'Stop it, or I'll shut you in the dark cupboard!'