ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -Mistress Hibbins, who is described as “bitter-tempered” and possessing “ill-omened physiognomy” chooses to embrace being excluded from society, and even revel in her outsider status. Hester, however, patiently endures her outcast status.

Detailed explanation-2: -Mistress Hibbins Another historical figure, Ann Hibbins, sister of Governor Bellingham, was executed for witchcraft in 1656. In the novel, she has insight into the sins of both Hester and Dimmesdale and is a symbol of super or preternatural knowledge and evil powers.

Detailed explanation-3: -Ann Hibbins (also spelled Hibbons or Hibbens) was a woman executed for witchcraft in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 19, 1656. Her death by hanging was the third for witchcraft in Boston and predated the Salem witch trials of 1692. Hibbins was later fictionalized in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel The Scarlet Letter.

Detailed explanation-4: -What is Mistress Hibbins saying about the people of Salem Village? She is saying that many have gone to the forest with her, therefore, Hester and Dimmesdale are not the only sinners.