The Scarlet Letter Page #5

Put it on!

lt is not a badge of my shame,

but your own!

What do you want?

Have l changed so much,

my beloved,

that you would slay me as l

resurrect myself from the dead?

Roger?

Hester.

Was l ever unkind to you?

Did l not love thee?

Did l not see thee

above all womanhood?

Are you not bound to me

by sacred oath?

Or has this new land turned thee

into a heathen?

Lay our bed will thou, wife.

Pray for thy sins, Hester Prynne.

Beg the Lord to forgive

thy corruption.

Pray and l'll wash thee

as white as snow.

White as snow, my love.

White as snow.

White as snow.

Arthur?

Hester?

Thank God you're here!

-Why are you taking this risk?

-l had to warn you.

My husband is alive.

Dear God!

Alive?

Now we'll hang for certain.

Why would he show up at this moment

if he wasn't God's dark messenger,

sent to punish us.

Arthur, you must leave without us.

l cannot bear to see you

trapped here,

under his watchful eye forever.

Hester, l must stay

and watch over you and Pearl.

No. You don't know him.

He'll wait for us to

betray each other

with the slightest glance

or the merest gesture.

Please. You must go!

This God's punishment,

because we tried to run

from His Will.

l will not say farewell, Hester.

Pray God watch over you.

And so will l.

Kiss Pearl for me each night.

'Tis easy to see

the mother's part in her.

ls it beyond research,

l wonder,

to analyze her nature,

and from it's make and mold,

give a shrewd guess

as to the father?

What are your expectations?

l do not expect your heart

to return to you quickly.

But l hope one day

you will draw me again

into your heart.

Love has forced me to open

my heart to another.

Watch your tongue, woman!

'Tis this phantom lover who

puts these words into your mouth1

Where is he?

ls his kiss

still wet on your lips,

on your breast?

-l demand to know!

-lf l spent 6 months in a cold jail,

and did not tell these iron men,

what makes you think

l'll tell you now?

These trials have made me strong!

And l am not the child

you married!

Why not announce yourself openly

and cast me off at once.

No, no.

l seek no vengeance against you.

But the man lives

who wronged us both.

He bears no letter of infamy

wrought into his garment.

But l shall read it on his heart.

Breathe one word to him

of my true identity,

and you will both hang.

lf you try to escape,

you will be easily found.

Easily!

From the savages

l have learned patience,

Hester Prynne.

Goody Gotwick, thank you.

Reverend, allow me to introduce

our newest boarder,

Doctor Chilling...

-Chillingworth.

-Chillingworth.

Good day, man.

Good day, sir.

What brings you

to our colony, sir?

l'm a physician, sir.

l would cleanse the ills

of the community.

Have l said something strange?

No.

l'm amazed.

We have prayed

for a skilled physician.

l see you are translating

the Bible into Algonquin.

A most difficult tongue

to master.

lf l can be of help, Reverend.

l am fluent in Algonquin.

-Fluent?

-Yes.

l was a prisoner of the Tarrantine.

When l spoke improperly,

l was whipped.

l learned quite rapidly.

How were you captured?

l was working my farm in Virginia.

They came,

killed my wife, Eleanor,

God rest her soul,

and our infant son,

and sold me into captivity.

lt's a wonder you're not consumed

with bitterness and despair.

No, no. ln truth,

l am indebted to the lndians.

Some say they are savages,

but true savagery,

l find resides elsewhere.

Mistress Roger Prynne.

Mistress Prynne.

And what is your duty, boy?

Follow you around, Mistress.

Well, at least they'll

make a path for me.

Whore!

God will punish you, sinner!

Jezebel!

You're not welcome here!

Be gone, Hester Prynne!

Soap, please. Three pieces.

Although he wore no outward

symbol ofhis shame,

my father wore his own scarlet

letteron the bosom ofhis soul.

The pain oftheirseparation

must have affected us all.

I was a troublesome child.

My fatherached formy mother,

and filled his loneliness

in the wilds with Johnny.

They struggled

to keep alive theirdream

ofbuilding a bridge

between English and Indian.

Johnny,

why are they so close to town?

They say our people have

fallen asleep.

So they must remain awake

for all of us.

l'm worried.

ls war coming?

The great experiment

is not working, is it?

Yes, he's right.

lf there's war, what is to stop

our praying lndians

from rising up

and slitting our throats

as we sleep?

Faith, Thomas. Faith.

l know what will stop them.

Arthur's friendship

with Johnny Sassamon.

Johnny would never betray Arthur.

He worships him.

As Peter worshipped

Jesus.

Gentlemen.

Doctor.

lf there's a true war,

God help us all.

for neither we nor

the savaged will survive it.

l see the governor appreciates

the signs less than yee,

his Godly advisors.

lt is not always easy.

Strangely, the same thing

happened in Virginia.

Before the attack,

there were signs

that went unheeded.

What manner of signs?

The bad winter.

The crop failures.

Far too many Quakers

and foreigners in the town.

Some minor elements

of witchcraft, etc.

Exactly!

Our first sign was that

of Hester Prynne

and her women's meetings.

Then the severe winter.

The failed crops.

You see, sir,

my colleague has feared

from the start,

that in the matter of

Mistress Prynne,

witchcraft was involved.

Then why in all this time

have you not taken measures

to cleanse your colony?

What measures do you speak of?

Did you examine the women

present at those meetings?

Have you queried the midwife,

or inspected the child

for the witch's marks?

l shall fear no evil.

l prepare us a table

in the presence of thine enemy.

My cup

runneth over.

Surely goodness

and mercy shall follow me.

l will dwell

in the house of the Lord.

The babe's clean,

at present.

Hester,

we shall leave your child

with you for the present,

but you must assure us

it will be raised a Christian.

Yes, yes.

Yes.

l've been your friend today.

But it cannot always be so.

No.

For inside me l grow

more wretched by the day.

l yearn so much for thee.

l fear l might destroy

her whole world

to win her back.

Tell old Harriet

what's troubling you.

l never imagined

how cruel and cunning

their punishment could be.

Stonehall y Cheever

stop to preach at me in the street.

The people pointing and shouting.

Even the children.

And that horrible drummer boy

following me everywhere.

Perhaps it was all for naught.

l wonder if to be a woman

is worthwhile at all.

Even for the happiest of women.

Courage, child.

Take heart. At least you've

known what it is to love.

But what if l've repaid it

by destroying him?

What if

everything l believed

so strongly was a lie?

Vain and

selfish.

Prynne's cruelpunishments

were succeeding.

The seasons ran theircourse.

The distance between them

was impassable.

My mother took the terrible risk

ofwriting to my father,

reminding to keep theirlove

and his silence.

The subtle but constant

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