After their discussion about Hester's choice of telling the minister about Chillingworth's true identity, Doctor Chillingworth and Hester part ways, the doctor resuming his task of gathering herbs for medicinal purposes, Hester staring at the leaving doctor. Hester wonders and surmise ill thoughts about and of the doctor " was the herbs he plucking dangerous in his purport, was there something amiss about his shadow, would he leave the earth as an ugly bat? As she thinks about this, she states that she hates the man and scolds herself for her remark, although she does not do anything to appease her statement.
She then reminisces about her life when she was an active wife to Chillingworth, realizing that these memories were among "her ugliest remembrances."" She wonders how she ever agreed to marry the man, thinking it was her crime "most to be repented of."" She also thinks it was even worse of Roger for asking her to marry him "when her heart knew no better."" She now knows that if she ever loved him, she was deceiving herself. These feelings brought onto her because of the conversation between her and the doctor reveals to Hester's state of mind things that she would not normally think.
Hester looks for Pearl. While Hester and the doctor had been conversing, Pearl had been amusing herself down of the beach, making boats from birch, melting a jellyfish in the sun, etc When Pearl saw a flock of seagulls, she took her apron filled with rocks and flung the rocks at the birds. She soon gave up because it "grieved her to have done harm- to something that was as wild as she.
Pearl then dresses herself as a mermaid, having inherited her mother's gift of devising drapery and costume. Pearl tops her fantastical garb with a familiar symbol " a letter "A- that was fashioned from seaweeds. It is pointed out that the letter was "freshly green, instead of scarlet."" Pearl then wonders if her mother will ask her about the costume.
