The Scaffold Scenes in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the Puritans constantly look down on the sinners like Hester Prynne, both literally and symbolically. The use of the three gallows scenes throughout the novel proved to be an effective method of proving this theory and showing how Puritan society differs from that of today. In the first gallows scene, Hester is led out of the prison where she has spent the last few months, towards the gallows, clutching her newborn baby to her breast, covering the scarlet letter, the two symbols representing the truth and her lost innocence. She stands on the scaffold, with the magistrates and ministers standing above her in the pulpit, symbolizing that they will always be closer to God than she will ever be, however, the reader is unaware that Hester's minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, who he also stands above her in the pulpit, which is a bit of dramatic irony, considering the fact that he is the child's father, and she is complicit in his sin. Also during this scene, the man the reader knows as Roger Chillingworth lurks in the shadows, watching Hester, with evil already swelling within him, blackening his soul. The events leading up to the next gallows scene, some years later, are some of the most significant scenes in the entire novel. Dimmesdale's treatment by Chillingworth, whom Dimmesdale had welcomed as his doctor, plays a key role, as Chillingworth's intentions are anything but pure. Chillingworth is determined to take revenge and is willing to do whatever it takes, even destroying another man's life to calm the ferocious beast within himself. However, deep in Chillingworth... middle of the paper... and withdrawn, as if all the life and faith he had in the world had been drained from him. It is in this scene that Dimmesdale finally publicly acknowledges Hester and Pearl, takes them with him to the gallows, and announces to the world what he has done, and through this feels that he has suffered enough and that his conscience is clear. , and with that he dies and goes to Heaven, a soul that has been forgiven, leaving Hester and Pearl alone once again with their pain and sin. These three gallows scenes show the rise of the conflict, the climax and the conclusion. All three tie together to show a common theme, the truth. The scaffold and those on it represented the truth, while those above judged and those below stared. It serves as an important symbol throughout the novel, distinguishing sinners and those who would judge them.