"Into the woods to find there's hope of getting through the journey."
"It was the same town as heretofore: but the same minister returned not from the forest." (Hawthorne 195)
It's interesting to me that in order for the minister to change, he had to go into the woods where to found Hester and Pearl and spoke with them. I think getting lost in the woods and coming out as a changed person is a continuing them in many works of literature. For example. the title of this blog is a song lyrics from the musical "Into the Woods".
Dimmesdale didn't necessarily go into the woods to "find himself" but after leaving the forest he came out a changed person and knew things and felt things that he did not know or did not feel prior to going into the forest. He had some type of hope for the future, whether good or bad. If he had not ventured into the forest, the story probably would habe had a different ending and not worked out the way it did.
http://jerz.setonhill.edu/EL266/2009/09/hawthorne_sl4/#comments
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Jessica Pierce on "Into the woods to find there's hope of getting through the journey.": I also chose a similar passage
I also chose a similar passage to write about. The woods seemed to be his passage way from one way of thinking to another. I agree with you in that the story would have been completely different without the meeting in the woods. It was necessary for the progression of the story in that direction.
The forest did hold a power in this novel. Even the supposed witch could tell they had gone in the woods even though she didn't actually see them there. It is interesting. And I agree. The minister probably wouldn't have made that change if he hadn't gone into the woods.
By the way, you made my day by referencing "Into the Woods."