This Is Not a Disney Story.

In the last few chapters of The Scarlet Letter, Hester never gets the European vacation she always wanted, Roger Chillingworth fades into dust, and Dimmesdale exposes his naked chest to the world and yells out his sin until he dies. Did anyone get his or her happily-ever-after in this book? Where are the feels like the ones I got at the end of Toy Story 3? Woody goes with Andy; Buzz and friends are passed down to another kid. It is hopeful--it is a new beginning. Hawthorne, on the other hand, does not give such a satisfying ending but one where everyone dies. Who got their happily-ever-after?

For Chillingworth, his death can be seen as a happy one. Obsessed with the identity of Pearl's father, Chillingworth changes from a man of knowledge to an ugly demon smiling and chuckling evilly at everyone's misfortune. Hester and Dimmesdale's sin ruined his life, but once the secret was out, the Leech lost his host and "was left with no further material to support [himself]" (255). Chillingworth died as an accomplished man, succeeding in his sole goal and free from the Devil.

Hester's life sucks, even to the end. She is never free from her scarlet letter and does not get to live the rest of her years with Dimmesdale, her true love. Instead, Dimmesdale dies, she lives with the same guilt and shame from the scarlet letter until her death, and her sin follows her past death onto her tombstone ("'ON A FIELD, SABLE, THE LETTER A, GULES'" (259)). It is sad that Hester, the pitiful character that tries to dutifully protects the identity of her partner, never gets her happily-ever-after.

Dimmesdale's ending is, in truth, a happily-ever-after. He confesses the sin that has been burdening his chest for years and dies a God-fearing man. He does not have to deal with Chillingworth's evil presence nor his double life of pastor by day and sinner by night. He is a free man, but it is hard to say if he would have been happier if he lived and left with Hester to Europe. Ignoring the fact that Chillingworth would have followed them, Dimmesdale and Hester would have that classic ending where they happily grow old together. Once their decision was made, Dimmesdale said he was "made anew" (198) and this is the "better life" (198). If everything went perfectly--and Dimmesdale decided not to confess and bail on the plan during the ceremony--. Hester and Dimmesdale would have had their happily-ever-after.

The only loser in this story is Hester, which demonstrates her strength and perseverance, but these aren't Disney endings. These three characters, all loved or hated, all reach some serenity in their deaths. Hawthorne's genius way of showcasing their ends truly prove the realness and consequences of a secret.