What Does The Rosebush Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hawthorne conveys the ardent sentiments of Hester Prynne, the protagonist, through her daughter, Pearl, and employs Pearl to aid Hester in her struggle for individuality. Hawthorn projects Hester’s passion onto Pearl by comparing her to a rosebush, a symbol of independence, which guides Hester through an impassive society. Additionally, Pearl embodies the spirit and fervor of Hester, which society had tried to stifle, and exhibits these feelings in the unimpeded forest. Furthermore, Pearl mirrors Hester’s singularity and dynamism, and ensures that Hester sustains these qualities by removing her from the graveyard, symbolic of the apathetic community in which she lives. Pearl is a manifestation of Hester’s repressed

Pearl personifies this ardor, having been “...plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses that grew by the prison door” (p. 106). Pearl originates from a rosebush, a symbol of passion, in contrast to the Puritans, who are symbolized by a “black flower of civilized society” (p. 46). Hawthorne emphasizes this particular rosebush, situated at the entrance of the jail, in order to highlight Pearl’s connection to Ann Hutchinson, a woman who stood for religious freedom and individuality. In the beginning of the novel, Hawthorne writes that this rosebush, by the prison door, “...had sprung up under the footsteps of the sainted Ann Hutchinson” (46). Like Ann Hutchinson, who was excommunicated for her opinions, Hester is segregated from the community because of her actions and individualism; similar to the manner that Ann creates a rosebush, Hester begets Pearl. In this way, Pearl assimilates the temperament of both Ann Hutchinson and Hester, personifying their defiance, independence and passion, the antithesis of the strict, uniform style of the Puritans. As Hawthorne writes at the start of the