At the
very end of , "The Leech and His Patient,"falls into a deep slumber. It is midday,
and he has been reading. The sleep is suspicious, which Hawthorne suggests through his
description of it. First, it is early in the day and Dimmesdale was studying. Second, it is a
very deep sleep. Dimmesdale is not usually a heavy sleeper, "he was one of those persons
whose sleep, ordinarily, is as light, as fitful, and as easily scared away, as a small bird
hopping on a twig." Here, he is out cold.
Another reason that the
sleep appears suspicious is the way in which Chillingworth enters the room. Rather than walk
quietly, so as not to disturb Dimmesdale, he enters "without any extraordinary
precaution." He then "advanced directly in front of his patient, laid his hand upon
[Dimmesdale's] bosom, and thrust aside the vestment, that, hitherto, had always covered it even
from the professional eye."...
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