Chapter 12 Summary

Filled with some strange impulse, Dimmesdale mounts the scaffold that Hester once climbed to advertise her shame to the populace of Boston. In an act of temporary insanity, he shrieks out, hoping, possibly, to awaken the populace and further cement his guilt. But, instead of this happening, events conspire to keep his secret.

Slowly, as if in a shadowy parade, certain figures, pass by, after having attended to the dying Governor Winthrop. First comes Reverend Wilson, who does not notice him. For a moment, it as if he had cried out to the elder minister, but it was only his imagination. But now he is found by Hester itself, coming from the same death chamber.

At that moment, a meteor soars through the heavens, lighting up the night sky. To Arthur Dimmesdale tormented faculties, it appeared to describe the letter "A." He stands...