Question

Hawthorne ends a chapter with this sentence, after describing Dimmesdale in the pulpit and Hester in the marketplace surrounded by gawkers:

What imagination would have been irreverent enough to surmise that the same scorching stigma was on them both!

What is ambiguous about this statement?

Answer 1

It is unclear if readers are supposed to find Dimmesdale more or less virtuous than Hester.

Step-by-step explanation:

Both have problems but its difficult to personalize Dimmesdale.

Answer 2

It is unclear if readers are supposed to find Dimmesdale more or less virtuous than Hester.