Hester suffers as a result of the "innumerable throbs of anguish that had been so cunningly contrived for her by the undying, the ever-active sentence of the Puritan tribunal," and this produces some mental changes in her. The letter makes her the subject of the text in church on Sabbath days; she comes to dread the children who pursue her through the streets; she feels pain anew when strangers see the letter, though her fellow...
Hester suffers as a result of the "innumerable throbs of anguish that had been so cunningly contrived for her by the undying, the ever-active sentence of the Puritan tribunal," and this produces some mental changes in her. The letter makes her the subject of the text in church on Sabbath days; she comes to dread the children who pursue her through the streets; she feels pain anew when strangers see the letter, though her fellow sinner's glance "seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half of her agony were shared." Hester also comes to believe that her experience with wearing the letter "gave her a sympathetic knowledge of the hidden sin in other hearts," surely a significant mental change as well. Her guilt becomes a heavier burden when she finds that there is no segment of society in which she cannot exist without reference to her crime or her punishment.
There is not really any mention of Chillingworth in these chapters and only a brief, indirect reference to Dimmesdale. In chapter 5, there is the discussion of the momentary relief provided by the gaze of Hester's fellow sinner: she feels that his "eye. . . upon the ignominious brand. . . seemed to give a momentary relief, as if half of her agony were shared. The next instant, back it all rushed again, with still a deeper throb of pain; for, in that brief interval, she had sinned anew. Had Hester sinned alone?" It seems, then, that Dimmesdale does share the weight of guilt, and Hester senses this emotion.
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