When Hester is told the governor cannot see her immediately, she firmly tells the servant she will wait. Her determined manner indicates to the servant how strongly she feels about the issue of Pearl’s guardianship. Because the servant is new in the community, he has not heard the story of the scarlet letter. The beautifully embroidered emblem on her dress and her determination cause him to think she is a person of some influence. Hawthorne emphasizes the servant’s recent arrival to impress upon the reader the well-known nature of the scarlet letter’s story.
Bellingham’s house is described as a mansion of fantasy: cheery, gleaming, sunny, and having “never known death.” It comes to life as the only interior description in the novel. Bellingham’s home is a mixture of stern Puritan portraits and Old World comforts. Is it any wonder that the polished mirror of the breastplate on Bellingham’s armor plays tricks on the eyes? Here in this fortress of Puritan rules where men will decide her fate, Hester virtually vanishes behind the scarlet A in the breastplate’s reflection. Even Pearl’s naughtiness and impish qualities are exaggerated — at least in Hester’s mind — as if to defy the stifling, moralistic atmosphere of this place. The governor and his cronies arrive, and Pearl lets out an eerie scream. Their future approaches.
