書蟲4級《紅字》10．赫斯特·普林的悲傷

10.Hester Prynne's sadness

After many days, when there had been time for people to arrange their thoughts, there was more than one report about what had been seen on the scaffold.

Most of those watching said that they saw a scarlet letter, like Hester Prynne's, on the priest's chest. But how long had it been there? There were various explanations, all of which were no more than guesses. Some said that Mr Dimmesdale had burned the letter into his chest on the same day that Hester Prynne received her scarlet letter. Others said that old Roger Chillingworth had caused it to appear, by some devilish magic. And others said it was a terrible sign of a guilty heart, and of God's punishment. The reader may choose from these possible explanations.

However, there were some who were watching who said that there was no mark at all on Mr Dimmesdale's chest. Neither, they said, had his dying words accepted any part of, or responsibility for, Hester Prynne's shame. The priest, they said, by choosing to die in the arms of that sinful woman, was simply trying to teach his people that even the most godly of them were all sinners in the eyes of God.

But nothing was more extraordinary than the way old Roger Chillingworth changed after Mr Dimmesdale's death. This unhappy man grew weaker every day. Revenge had been his food and drink, and without it, his life had no meaning. Before the end of a year, he was dead.

But he left all his money—together with land and houses in England—to little Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne.

So Pearl became the richest person of those days in New England. This, of course, changed the way people behaved towards Hester and her daughter. Many families, thinking about the future, now saw Pearl, not as a child of sin, but as a most suitable wife for one of their sons! But soon after Chillingworth died, Hester and Pearl disappeared, and for many years no one knew where they had gone.

People told the story of the scarlet letter to their children, and their children's children. The scaffold where the poor priest died remained, and was as strong a warning of shame as it ever was.

And then, one afternoon, some children were playing near Hester's old cottage when they saw a tall woman in a grey dress go up to the door. In all those years it had never once been opened, but she seemed to unlock it before going inside. She turned in the doorway and looked back—long enough for those watching to see the scarlet letter on her bosom. Hester Prynne had returned!

But where was little Pearl, now a young woman? Was she alive or dead? No one knew, nor did they ever find out. But for the remainder of Hester's life, she received letters from England. And in the cottage were beautiful, expensive things which Hester never used, but which spoke of somebody's loving thoughts towards her. And once, someone saw Hester decorating a baby's dress with the richest of gold thread.

All these things led people to believe that Pearl was not only alive but also married and happy. And that she did not forget her mother and always kept her home in England open for her, if Hester should ever want it.

But Hester Prynne's life was in New England. Here she had sinned, and here she would end her life. She had returned willingly, and once again put on her scarlet letter.

Never again did it leave her bosom. However, in the years that followed, it became a sign not of shame but of sadness. It reminded others that here was a woman who had done wrong, but who had been punished enough. And people, especially women, came to her for advice, for her wise words, for comfort in their times of trouble and misery and suffering.

When she died, a new grave was dug next to an old one, but there was only one gravestone for the two graves. It was a simple stone—you may still see it there today and on it was just one letter; a letter that had been scarlet, a letter that both began this sad story, and brought it to an end.