The Scarlett Letter, by
, is set in Puritan New England; it is a time of great suspicion and therefore also of great
accusation. Sin is condemned in the strongest terms, both from the pulpit and from the Puritans
themselves. They are even quicker to pass judgment and condemn others when they are trying to
deflect people from seeing their own sins. It is against this backdrop that Hawthorne places ,
her former husband, her secret lover, and her daughter.
One of the
peripheralin this novel is , the governor's sister who is later killed for being a witch.
(Hibbins is based on a real woman in Puritan history who was, in fact, condemned and killed for
practicing witchery.) She does not appear often in the novel, but when she does she seems to
recognize the "hidden sins" of both Hester and , and several times she invites Hester
to join her in the forest (a symbolic place of darkness, evil, and sin).
Wilt thou go with us tonight? There will be a merry company in the
forest; and I well-nigh promised the Black Man that comely Hester Prynne should make
one.
Though she does not play a major role in
, Mistress Hibbins is a grim reminder that Puritans do not tolerate overt
sins, such as the practice of witchcraft and adultery (though it certainly allows hypocrisy and
judgmentalism in seemingly pious people to continue unchecked). Hester tellsshe has been visited
by the "Black Man" only once, and the letter that she wears is her mark; this connects
Hester to the only other woman in the novel who claims to have dealings with the "Black
Man" (Satan).
Each time Hester is at a crossroads, she meets Mistress
Hibbins, such as at the Governor's mansion and the scaffold. Mistress Hibbins is both a reminder
of Hester's sin and her choice of how to deal with that sin. These are two constant thematic and
plot elements in the story, which make Mistress Hibbins essential to the
novel.
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