scarlet letter chapters 1-4

In chapter 1 of the Scarlet Letter, I felt like the narrator was trying to give the reader some type of background information on what was going to happen in the story. Hester was not introduced yet, and they were talking mostly about a jail that would be relevant to the story. "finding it so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers, and present it to the reader." I thought the narrator was saying here that if they did not give you some type of background information on the prison and what it represents, the reader would not understand the story. In the second chapter it was mostly talking about how the women of the town were reacting to Hester Prynne. The narrator was also making it clear that even back then during that time, women still talked about each other, and most of the women at this time were happy to see that Hester Prynne was getting punished. One part of the story that I found really interesting was when Hester emerged from the prison door, and she was being manhandled and she fought back. "Until, on the threshold of the prison door, she repelled him, by an action marked with natural dignity and force of character, and stepped into the open air, as if by her own free will." (50) I think this really showed how strong of a women Hester really was, regardless of her wrong doings. Chapter 3 really focused on the recognition of the scarlet letter that Hester was wearing. Something I have also realized throughout all of the talking and staring, Hester has not let go of her baby once. It seems like people want her to be ashamed of her baby because of her wrong doings, but she is not ashamed, she seems to be proud of her child. Also I have noticed that Hester has not spoken in the story yet, this could be seen as her being "guilty" but I see it as she does not want to respond to negative statements being said about her. On pages 64-65 when the clergyman was addressing Hester about her wrong doings, I was a little bit confused on why he or his brother Dimmesdale had to "deal with the poor sinner's soul". In chapter 4, I felt things got interesting. I think this chapter was showing how easily somebody's real emotions could be mistaken for mental instability. I personally don't believe Hester even needed a doctor to begin with. After the physician gave the baby the medicine, it says, "with calm and intent scrutiny, he felt her pulse, looked into her eyes- a gaze that made her heart shrink and shudder, because so familiar, and yet so strange and cold- and finally, satisfied with his investigation, proceeded to mingle another draught." I was wondering why the stare between the two of them was so familiar and made Hester's heart sink. Could this be a clue that maybe the physician is the child of the baby?  Even though the physician was the one interrogating Hester to reveal who the father of the baby was. Also the doctor is telling Hester that he is going to find out who the father is anyway because he is going to become ill.