The Scarlet Letter

Explain the allusion in the townsman’s telling Chillingworth, “that matter remaineth a riddle; and the Daniel who shall expound it is yet a-wanting.”

Explain the allusion in the townsman’s telling Chillingworth, "that matter remaineth a riddle; and the Daniel who shall expound it is yet a-wanting."

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The allusion is to that of the Biblical story of Daniel. Daniel was wise, gifted, and the interpreter of dreams. The townsman's comment alludes to the fact that the identity of Pearl's father would have to be a divine rScarevelation.

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The Scarlet Letter