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My brother Metacomet,
may the noble spirit
of your father, Massasoit,
soar with the eagles.
Chief Metacomet.
Thanks to
the friendship of your father, we have survived here.
My father should have let you
die!
You are
the only one
who comes to us
with an open heart.
But your people have murdered
my father
with their lies!
My name is Pearl.
This is the story of my mother, Hester Prynne.
It was the year of our Lord 1666,
when she arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
filled with the hope that at last, in this new world
would come the freedom to worship without fear of persecution.
My esteemed colleague!
Thy years of toil become thee!
Thy fame preceeds thee, sir.
Governor Bellingham,
may l present
the Reverend Thomas Cheever.
Welcome, sir. It's a long voyage.
3 months at sea,
will either take away your faith, or harden it to iron.
Allow me to introduce a woman who's been travelling with us,
-Mistress... -Hester Prynne.
I apologize for the coarseness
of my hands, Mistress.
But here in the colonies, everyone must work.
l look forward to the hard work.
It says id Psalm 92: ''I will triumph in the work of thy hands''.
Thou canst quote the Scriptures.
Aye, Reverendo, both Testaments. My husband taught me.
You must rest.
Then I'll show you what's been accomplished.
l thank thee.
-Then it's Goodwife Prynne. -Yes, yes.
But l prefer to be called Hester.
Welcome, Hester.
I wish I could've seen it before,
when it was wild and untouched.
Madam,
you should use less lace in your dressmaking.
Indeed, Reverend.
Master of us all,
we give thanks for another bountiful meal,
and for newly arrived disciples,
that share it with us this night.
-Amen. -Amen.
So, Governor.
l am impatient to know how you fared with Metacomet.
Well, Metacomet isn't Massassoit, Major Dunsmuir.
But if we respect the agreements we made with his father,
we've nothing to fear.
So we don't grow complacent,
our wise God sends us a sign.
When we sailed,
your letters said we were at peace with the savage.
Well,
l fear the days of ''peace'' with the Wampanoag is at an end.
Major,
we are frightening our new arrival.
We hear much
of your success with the praying lndians.
l'm very eager to meet Reverend Dimmesdale
and his converts.
The runts of the litter.
Dimmesdale's little treasures!
Some of us have other opinions.
Mistress Prynne,
l hope you'll stay with us
until your husband's arrival.
You're most kind, but l intend to find
a house of my own as soon as possible.
On thine own?
Why, yes.
lt's not considered fitting for a young woman to live alone.
l've come first to prepare a place for his arrival,
so that is what l intend to do.
Mistress Prynne.
The rules we live by may seem arbitrary to a newcomer,
but we have learnt the hard way
that without absolute order,
we cannot hope to survive here.
Rules, Mistress Prynne.
Order.
Survival.
Would you have me disobey my husband?
-l... -Reverend, you might enjoy
the company of my son, Brewster.
He studied Divinity.
Harvard wasn't good enough for him,
so he came home to make his fortune as a...
Minister's sons all moaning the Lord's Prayer
in their sleep.
Everyone must find his place.
-Morning, Mistress Prynne. -Good morrow.
So you intend on scandalising the town!
Get up!
Good!
l confess,
l feel alone in a sea of conformists.
Where should we begin our search?
On the cliffs by the sea.
No, it's out of the question.
Why?
No one's lived by the sea
since the lndians wiped out Ballinger's Point.
l say we start there.
Well, if you've decided.
ls that it, Brewster?
lt's beautiful.
I tried to imagine what her life was like
before she came to the new world.
Why did her husband send heron ahead,
alone?
Was it a test of her loyalty,
other spirit?
Or was it in his nature to set traps
for people in the hope they would fall into them?
lt's perfect!
With a cart and a musket, l could have a home here!
A cart, a horse,
a pitchfork, a plow.
l can think of better things
to do with these pretty hands than grow calluses on them.
l'll need indentured labour, at least two men.
-The land needs draining. -You are headstrong.
Perhaps it runs in the blood.
l'm told your father was too.
ls it true
he was in debt to your husband and you were the payment?
l've said something to disturb you.
l'm sorry.
l'm truly sorry.
God, thou art wondrous fair!
That hurt!
Good. lt'll remind you not to do it again.
Faith? Prudence?
Did you hear Mistress Prynne has a bathing tub?
What is she, French?
2 Shillings. Will you bid 2 shillings?
2 and a half?
Come on, gentlemen, do l have a bid for 3 shillings?
3 shillings?
Anyone else? Anyone else?
Going for 3 shillings. Any other bids?
Sold to the gentleman for 3 shillings.
-Next we have this other one, -Those two.
How much time left on their indenture?
About 3 years, but,
shouldn't your husband or father be doing business with me?
ls my money no good to you, sir?
Your money's as fine as wine in the sunshine, Mistress.
lf you buy them at a just price, l'll throw in the girl in red.
She's a slave!
But she don't speak, if that be a problem. Born that way.
Name your just price.
We'd best accompany you if your going to the forest.
Don't worry Mr Bobbin. l shan't go far.
Mistress Prynne? Mistress Prynne?
Where are you?
Mistress Prynne, where are you?
l found her.
-You did not. -l did to.
Mistress Prynne,
Have you forgotten it is the Sabbath?
Of course not. Forgive me.
We've come by especially to bring you to church.
Thank you, so much.
Please, go on without me.
l will follow at once.
Make haste.
Yes, sir.
All right, girl,
Come on.
Oh goodness!
Back up. Back up.
Come on now, back up.
Come on. Come on. Back up.
Good morrow.
May l be of assistance?
Not from up there.
Come on.
Steady. Steady.
l can't make this horse understand me.
Let me try.
Come on, girl.
Come on, back up!
Come on, girl.
Come on. Come on.
l'm afraid you're in too deep.
She'll not make it. Let me try this.
l do hope you can get it free.
l'm already late for the service, and everyone's talking about me.
l've been away and l'm quite behind on local gossip.
l bought the old Newbury place out on Ballinger's Point.
Then,
l owe you an apology.
l've been trespassing.
There's a place at the point where l like to bath.
Really? Well, l shan't charge too steep a tariff.
Come on, girl, back up!
-Back up. -One,
Two,
Two. Three.
l'm afraid this cart will be stuck here until Sabbath next
unless l gather hands to help.
Would you care to ride with me?
On your horse, with you?
Aye, unless you can ride.
l can ride.
You take my horse and l'll take yours.
There's a shortcut to the meeting house,
but it's a difficult road.
l shall manage, sir.
-Are you certain? -Just you lead the way.
Come on! Come on!
May God be with you.
l'm sure he already is.
But aren't you coming to...
Good Sabbath to ye all.
Friends,
and fellow voyagers,
in the greatest of all dreams.
We've been singled out, like lsrael of old,
to serve as a model.
But if we are to succeed
in building our new Jerusalem,
our ''City on a Hill'',
then the power of love,
yea, His Divine Love,
we must bind our hearts as one!
English and lndian,
gentry and indentured, free man and slaves,
and make of us
an example for all the world,
to marvel at and proclaim:
''Here...
is the measure of perfection!
Here,
lives God's own!''
But we are not succeeding in that test.
We are failing! And why?
Because we covet, nay,
we lust after what is not ours.
Be it for the rich land of our lndian brothers,
be it for glory,
for profits or for revenge.
Need l read the secret
of every heart?
l will if you want.
Yea, l will if you want.
l will lay open the secrets
before the eyes of God!
What thou lusteth after is my enemy, sayeth the Lord God.
For only l shall consume thee,
only l shall fill thee up.
lf thou failest to heed my commandments,
then my fist
shall descend on thee like a stone!
And thy sword shall cut thee into bloody parts,
and even thy memories shall be sacrificed
to the winds for all time!
May God bless you,
each and every one of you.
Amén.
Allow me to present a newcomer to our congregation,
Mistress Roger Prynne.
Mistress Roger?
Aye, her husband, a renowned physician will join her before...
Reverend Dimmesdale and l have already...
l helped when her cart got stuck in the woods.
l greatly enjoyed your sermon.
lt's rare for a man so young to speak with such passion.
For some reason,
l felt most inspired today.
We welcome you and your husband to our congregation.
Mother! Mother!
There you are, Hester.
Meet my friend, Running Moose. He's our schoolmaster.
And l'm sure you'd like some refreshment.
Do you teach the English children as well Mr Running Moose?
They call me John or Johnny here.
We try our best, but the English are a bit slow-witted.
Slow-witted?
Johnny's a bit of a jester, but he was our first praying lndian.
My best friend in the colony.
Arthur,
-this is Mistress... -We've already met.
Excuse me.
So like home.
Yet beyond those trees l suspect a savagery,
of savage passions,
dark and untamed.
Reverend Dimmesdale, have you met our young friend?
Yes, we've met.
Mistress Prynne and l travelled out on the same ship.
l'm going to marry him one day.
No you're not, l'm going to aren't l Mistress Prynne?
-Marry whom? -Reverend Dimmesdale, of course!
''A Short Description of the Great and Last Judgement''.
Well, ''Platform for Church Discipline''.
They're all tracts!
''The Goodwife's Manual...''
for Animal Husbandry''
l believe we've already met.
Oh, yes, l... l'm sorry, l didn't realize.
l should have announced my presence.
What are you reading?
-''Comus'', it's by John -John Milton.
l know it. l've read it.
Have you?
l'm not all counterpanes and coverlets.
Every spare moment, l read.
l'm the same.
l've read every book in this room. Some of them several times.
Even ''Manual for Animal Husbandry?''
A most exhilarating read.
So, did you truly enjoy my sermon?
Yes, it was most skilful.
Clearly your congregation reverences you.
You liked it not. We don't come up to London standards.
To the contrary. l was moved by your passion.
And?
Well,
when your fist struck your hand,
and sliced through the air like a sword,
l found myself wondering
what manner of pain lay beneath such forceful oratory.
Your tongue knows no rules, Mistress Prynne.
And if it did, Reverend,
what purpose would it serve?
And here l thought comprehending God
was to be my greatest challenge.
Yes, Reverend?
This morning in the forest,
why did you not say you were married?
Why did you not say you were a minister?
Good day, Mistress Prynne.
Good morrow, Mistress Prynne.
Good morrow.
You care for a cup of cider?
We are your neighbours, it seems.
Did you like the sermon this morning?
From where l sat it seemed it did please thee.
l liked it very much.
l thought the young minister very...
Handsome?
Harriet Hibbons.
Ruth?
How do you do?
Come and meet some of the others who were not invited
to the Governor's shindig.
Sally Short, Mistress Prynne.
How do you do?
l was on the dock when you arrived.
Mary Rollins.
Mary don't like to speak much.
She's only been free from the savages this half year.
And Matona don't trust the English, do you dear?
Mistress Prynne?
Thank you, no. l never imbibe.
You've gathered some fine Balm of Gilead,
Shepherd's Purse, yarrow.
You know your plants?
l do. l recite ''Culpepper'' by heart.
Really?
Then what would you use to heal a bad burn?
l've seen sweet fern work miracles,
but Culpepper suggests blackberry and red cedar.
Well, you hear that.
My husband has a very large library
and l was able to school myself.
How do you like our new Jerusalem?
Sober enough for you?
Aye,
sober enough.
What l miss is the dancing.
Dancing?
When first we came,
they'd be dancing round the maypole.
Feast days we'd sing bawdy songs.
People weren't afraid to play the fool.
We'd teach the bears to dance.
Now days, everybody getting more and more sour faced and ponderous.
And a whipping post stands where the may pole used to be.
But there's a few of us who haven't forgotten to laugh.
lt's been a pleasure meeting you all.
l'm sorry l must take my leave,
but l don't want to be stuck in the wilds at night.
There are things that sound to me,
the wilds at night are my natural territory.
Particularly when there's a full moon.
Do you try to frighten me with this witch talk?
Not so, Mistress Prynne.
But l can see what others cannot.
Be a curse, to be sure,
but l know the hearts of men.
And what does my heart tell you?
You're a most comely woman.
Let a man tremble who wins the hand of a maid,
but possesses not the full passion of her heart.
My husband has nothing to fear.
Good day Mistress Hibbons.
Good day, Mistress Prynne.
Good day, Goody Gotwick.
l brought these for Reverend Dimmesdale.
The Reverend be occupied with his work, Missus.
Leave them books on the table and l'll be sure he gets them.
Good morrow, Reverend.
Good morrow, Mistress Prynne.
Knowing you hunger for new reading,
l brought you some books.
How courteous of you.
Please.
l must apologize for my forthrightness on Sabbath last.
l've earned a few reprimands for speaking too bluntly.
l owe an apology, too.
l can't understand why l took such offence
to such a simple comment.
But l have wondered
how you were able
to see so deeply
into my nature.
Perhaps l'm a witch.
l must be keeping you from your chores.
Thank you for the books.
Good day.
l'm sorry. My hands are covered in ink.
l've been
hovered over my translations all day.
Translations?
Aye. l'm attempting to
translate the Bible into the local lndian language,
Algonquin.
What an ambitious undertaking.
But l'm told the lndians don't want to be guided by our Bible.
That war with them is inevitable.
Some think that way, but they're wrong.
The lndians, born from a certain liberty,
take not easily to bridle and bit.
No man should.
Well...
What?
You keep putting ink on your face.
Oh, l do.
There you are.
l do hope you enjoy the books.
Thank you.
Good day.
Mituba?
'It's only a bathing tub, not a toy of Satan.
Mistress Prynne?
Reverend Dimmesdale!
-You frightened me. -l'm sorry. l didn't mean to.
lt's a wonderful surprise.
-lt's beautiful. -Yes, and frightening.
Just as Eden must have been.
So untouched.
Does it not cry out with it's promise,
that everything can begin anew?
l brought back your books.
You couldn't have read them all in four days.
Oh no, l did. l read most of them twice.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Farewell.
Hester...
l'm not the man l seem.
l've lived here all my life, my purpose clear.
But now l'd risk everything, my life, my ministry, my soul
just to spend a few moments alone with you.
God help me, Hester.
l love thee.
God help me. l love thee too.
Oh God. Have we lost our way?
No!
l dreamed of thee speaking thy heart.
l have prayed for it even as l have dreaded it.
Was l alive before l laid eyes on thee?
What shall we do?
l know not.
Say something to end it,
for l have not the power.
Nor l.
Nay!
We could be hanged for this.
l've put you in too much danger,
and l must end it by walking away and never speaking with you again.
Go then.
Do as you promised.
Throughout the long summer, Mistress Prynne and the Reverend
avoided each other at all costs.
Mistress Prynne rarely went to town and the Reverend escaped to the wilds
with the Indians
and faithful Johnny Sassamon forcompany.
And the colony organized
it's annual election day as usual.
No one the wiser that there existed among them
two hearts struggling against a love
that grew stronger with each passing day.
Johnny Sassamon says they've attacked the ''lntrepid''.
What's he saying,
Arthur?
The Tarrantines
attacked an English ship, the lntrepid.
All were massacred.
''Prynne''.
''Doctor Roger Prynne''.
Mistress Prynne.
l'm here as your minister.
Come in.
There was an attack,
an lndian attack on one of our ships.
They say that,
all aboard were massacred.
l regret to be...
the one to bring you this sad news.
l'll leave you to your mourning.
Are you certain none survived?
They say that the tide washed away the bodies.
God forgive me!
l've prayed so long to be set free.
You did not cause his death, Hester.
God...
took your husband.
But was it an answer to my prayers?
Does He work like that?
Perhaps.
lf in His eyes there was no other way
we could be together.
l must know what the law is.
The mourning, how long must one wait?
1 month? Six months? What?
Where there is no absolute proof of death,
7 years must pass before we're free to be seen in public.
7 years?
Yes...
Greetings, Metacomet.
We have been
enemies.
But now Tarrantine
and Wampanoag must unite
to fight
the greedy English.
before they push us into
the sea.
Were the lndians cruel to you, Mary?
After my little one died,
they treated me fair and square.
lf truth be told,
cruel is how you folks have treated me since l come home.
Thank you.
l didn't do nothing that wasn't forced on me!
The thought of being taken by a savage
makes me sick to my stomach.
Well, they do it on the backs of their horses,
ridin' across the land.
Hester, you all right?
Yes, l'm just tired.
Mary's right.
You call them savages.
l could tell you a thing or two
about your husband before he tied the knot with you.
Stupid slut!
Harold would never had nothing to do with no whore!
You think not?
l've even seen one of your windy ministers
pokin' an lnjun girl,
standin' on a bible so he could roger her better.
They always said the Scriptures should uplift you!
l refuse to be with those who would mock the Holy Book!
Well,
she'll not be coming back soon.
Good riddance to her!
We Quakers believe that the Scriptures be not religion,
but only the ceremony and history of it.
l agree.
For are not the laws of men but the imagination of mortals,
and the inner spirit the true voice of Heaven?
Hester,
l pray you're not sayin' you talk directly
to the Deity?
Don't you know that
only paid Bible-thumpers can do that?
Have a care, child,
or they'll talking of you the way they talk of me!
l know some consider it blasphemous to say this,
but l do talk to God.
l have since l was a small child.
And He answers me.
Mistress Roger Prynne...
by order of the Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony,
you are ordered to appear before the magistrates
at eight tomorrow morn!
Don't be tardy!
Mistress Prynne,
these gentlemen have laid a charge of heresy against you.
Tell me how it is the laws of men are the imagination of mortals?
It is the meetings thatyou call heresy.
Lascivious talk of fornication with savages.
Fallen women who tell lies about good citizens.
This is what comes when there is no qualified man present
to guide these women in their untutored chatterings.
lf the discourse of women is untutored chattering,
why does the Bible teach that women shall be the teachers of women?
Hester, we ask that you cease these meetings.
No, sirs. l'll not stop the meetings.
Arthur. Please join us.
l've been fishing, sir..
You may thank me to remain where l am.
-Please be seated. -Call our first witness.
ls it truly of import?
Yes, it is of great consequence.
Very well, call your witness.
Goody Gotwick?
Stand up, Goody.
You revealed to my wife something very disturbing.
Tell me, what does it mean when a woman
vomits in the morning hours?
And vomits more than once in the morning hours?
l only saw her the one time.
Yes. And?
Goody Mortimer saw her get sick in the market.
Are you with child?
Answer your betters, woman!
Do you carry a bastard child in yur womb?
Yes.
Who is the father?
You are innocent next to the one who would hide behind your skirts.
We would hang that fornicator!
l'll not reveal the name, sir.
l will tell you his name!
His name is Lucifer!
His name is Legion!
His name is lust!
Gentlemen,
What do you hope to accomplish?
You know there is no law against pregnancy.
But there is against adultery.
lt would only adultery if her husband were found to be alive.
The meetings will stop!
Governor,
if you knew the name of this man, would you punish Hester Prynne?
Has she confessed the name to you?
l've confessed nothing!
-Tell us the truth, Arthur. -He knows nothing of my affairs.
He speaks as my pastor to spare me your harsh hand.
But l fear not your punishments!
l love and honour the man who has fathered this child!
And say what you will, he is my true husband for life,
and l shall furnish no information which might cause him harm.
Very well, you leave me no choice.
You're under arrest.
ls this your new Jerusalem?
Let me have a moment alone with the woman.
-l can draw the name from her. -You shall have your chance.
Gentlemen.
l've considered all the arguments
and decided Arthur is allowed to speak to Mistress Prynne alone.
Hester Prynne,
place your hand on the Good Book.
Let us pray.
Why did you not tell me?
l was afraid.
l thought if l worked hard, l would miscarry.
l must go to Bellingham with the truth.
No, you must not!
You are a saint to these people! They'll hang you for betraying them!
l prefer to hang, than allow you to suffer for me.
They've no case against me!
-When they tire, they'll release me. -l know Stonehall.
You've challenged him,
and he'll not release you
until you are humbled and have recanted your sins.
Do you believe we've sinned?
l know not.
What happen between us had a consecration. Have you forgotten?
l've not forgotten!
Arthur, l know you want to speak out.
Your nature cries out for it.
But you risk your own ruin and deny me
my right to stand up to this hypocrisy.
Soldier!
lf l need you to speak,
l'll tie this handkerchief from the window.
l love thee woman,
but your strength frightens me.
l'll do what you ask.
Amen.
God be with you.
l'm sure he already is.
Gentlemen,
Mistress Prynne has been there more than 5 months
without any legal justification.
Even in Plymouth they regard this as barbaric!
l'd like to free her. At home, l have no peace on this.
But the people see us go to her week after week, caps in hand,
only to be turned away.
The woman is unrepentant!
She's fortunate we haven't beaten her publicly!
l'm surprised at you Reverend. You came here a man of reason.
l came here expecting some semblance of order.
Instead l find a den of fractiousness!
Sir, if you do not stem this dissent,
my wife and l will return to England.
And take our parishioners!
lf only she would give us
a small sign of contrition.
Ifit had been up to him, my father,
he would have ended it and revealed the truth of my origins.
But bound by my mother's wish, he could not.
He went every day to see her and was refused.
His eye ever on that window For her sign that it was time
to come forward with the truth.
Had there been flashes of Prynne's unstable nature before
in England?
No one knows.
But now, free from Puritan society, 736
he was increasingly seized by spirits so powerful
they were terrifying even to the Indians.
He has a ghost in him.
He'll bring us bad luck.
Send him home.
Forgive me, Lord,
for I have turned from my Heavenly Father.
Forgive me.
Lord, bring me back to thy bosom.
God's teeth, child! How could they leave you thus?
l'm so glad you're here!
6 months and not one visitor.