Love, Wild Emotion, And Forbidden Love : Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter

1222 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Scarlet papers by nathaniel hawthorne

"Great Price" in Later Life

Passion, wild emotion, and forbidden love: Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter. Published in 1850 and set in the seventeenth century, this is the story of the adulteress Hester Prynne (who has been forced to wear the scarlet letter A) and her lover in the early Massachusetts Bay colony. Pearl, Hester 's daughter, is a complex character whose primary function throughout the novel is symbolism. She is a living version of her mother 's scarlet letter, the physical consequence of sexual sin. As the story comes to an end, we learn details about the majority of the characters’ lives except one sassy damsel, Pearl. Hawthorne chose not to give more details about Pearl 's life, after her and Hester 's departure from Massachusetts, to ensure his intended themes throughout the novel went unaltered, and to maintain the underlying message of the original story as it compares to Mary Batcheller and her life.
When one thinks of the name Pearl, one would imagine it means pure and white, but definitely not sinful. To Hester, it means the pearl of great price, in reference to the pearl in Jesus ' parable that is bought at "great price." Pearl is quite the firecracker and extremely smart. While Pearl and Dimmesdale only met once, she knows that he is her father and well aware that Dimmesdale and her mother are having secret meetings in the woods. Through her wanting to be loved, as every child does, she asks Hester, "Doth he love us? Will he go back with us, hand in hand, we three together, into the town?"
Hawthorne spends a surprising amount of time talking about how Pearl is full of "native grace," and so pretty that she was "worth to have been brought forth in Eden." That may have been an easier life for Pe...

... middle of paper ...

...rrelating to the case of Mary Batcheller. The evidence is strong that Hawthorne derived the character Hester Prynne from the life of Batcheller.
The obvious way to read The Scarlet Letter is to say that Pearl ends up redeeming both her mom and Dimmesdale. She is the "pearl of great price" who restores their souls. By Dimmesdale acknowledging Pearl, he gives her a human father and a place in the world. Obviously she cannot associate with the Puritan community, but his confession and death leads to Chillingworth. With his fortune, Pearl is able to get out of town and settle somewhere she can marry and have children. Without further knowledge of Pearl 's life, the reader can fully focus on Hester and the trials she faced while being exiled. Readers know Pearl lives a fulfilling life by the sigh of relief Hester and Dimmesdale would have felt if they lived to see the day

Show More
Related

  • Scarlet Letter Loss Of Innocence Quotes

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pearl has spent her entire life knowing who her mother is and identifies her with and only with the letter on. “Pearl’s image, crowned, and girdled with flowers, but stamping its foot, wildly gesticulating, and in the midst of all, still pointing its small forefinger at Hester’s bosom!” (Hawthorne 173). In this scene, Hester takes the letter off when she is with Dimmesdale, and Pearl refuses to come near her until she puts the letter back on; she recognizes that the letter is a part of who her mother is. The identity of herself is also uncovered as a result of the letter. Pearl sees how the Puritan society treats her mother and refuses to act likewise. Not only does she stand up to those who judge Hester, but she also practices being kind instead. “Pearl was almost sure, [the bird] had been hit by a pebble and fluttered away with a broken wing. But then the elf-child sighed, and gave up her sport; because it grieved her to have done harm to a little being that was as wild as the sea-breeze, or as wild as Pearl herself” (Hawthorne 147). Pearl cares for the wellbeing of those around her, both human and animal. This has shaped who she is through her kindness and her intelligence; it becomes what her identity is and displays how she identifies her mother, verifying that she was impacted the most by the scarlet

    Read More

  • Pearl's Symbolism In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pearl is first introduced as the young babe clutched to Hester's chest, as she stands before a crowd of puritans beholding her humiliation. Embarrassed of the glaring letter on her chest, Hester thinks to hold little Pearl in front of her scarlet mark; however, she resolves that “one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another” (P.37). It is here that we see for the first time that Pearl has been reduced to nothing more than a symbol of Hester's sin, synonymous with the scarlet letter. As Pearl grows, so does the obvious nature with which Hawthorne portrays her as the scarlet letter. Throughout the book, we see Pearl dressed in bright clothes,

    Read More

  • Liberation from Sin through Pearl in The Scarlet Letter

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    This, as Arthur Dimmesdale almost prophetically expresses in the early scenes of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, was the role of Pearl, the elfish child borne of his and Hester Prynne's guilty passion. Like Paul's thorn in the flesh, Pearl would bring trouble, heartache, and frustration to Hester, but serve a constructive purpose lying far beyond the daily provocations of her childish impishness. While in many respects a tormentor to Hester, Pearl was also her savior, while a reminder of her guilt, a promoter of honesty and true Virtue; and while an embodiment of Hester's worst qualities, a vision of a better life for Hester and for herself.

    Read More

  • Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan community banned all forms of sin. Sin was looked upon as evil, being connected to the devil and his dark ways. Hester Prynne, the main character of the story, was shunned by the rest of the Puritan world after committing the sin of adultery. She lived in a world where it was not accepted. She was isolated from the world around her, having little hope. Throughout the novel, symbols such as the character of the kind woman, the wild rose bush outside of the prison doors and the character of Pearl, Hester Prynne's illegitimate child, are used to show that even in a world full of sin and darkness, there is always hope.

    Read More

  • Passion in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1036 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Love and hate are two sides of the same coin” (anonymous). While these emotions are thought of as positive and negative respectively, they are really just different forms of passion. Passion drives everyone to make decisions in their life, and love and hate are the most common forms of passion. Everyone experiences love and hate and is prisoner to the reactions that these elicit from them. Emotions simply happen, and while they can be hidden or covered up, they cannot be consciously changed by the victim. People cannot control the emotions they feel, but they often choose to work towards intensifying their hate or love once they know they are experiencing it. Although these emotions are encountered by everyone at one point or another, they are misunderstood by society and usually accepted as opposites. Though love and hate are often thought of as antonyms, Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his novel The Scarlet Letter, examines how they are fundamentally the same because of their intimacy and the power with which they shape people and society.

    Read More

  • Scarlet Letter, Pearl

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet letter is a novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The plot focuses on sin in the Puritan society. Hester Prynne, the protagonist, has an affair with Reverend Dimmesdale, which means they are adulterers and sinners. As a result, Pearl is born and Hester is forced to where the scarlet letter. Pearl is a unique character. She is Hester’s human form of her scarlet letter, which constantly reminds her of her sin, yet at the same time, Pearl is a blessing to have since she represents the passion that Hester once had.

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter. Nathaniel Hawthorne's Purpose

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter is a romance written by Nathaniel Hawthorne that takes place in the Puritan Community in Boston, Massachusetts during the 17th century. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, who commits the sin of adultery with the minister of the church, Reverend Dimmesdale, and conceives a baby girl, Pearl. Hester's husband, Roger Chillingworth, returns and seeks revenge. As Pearl grows up, her mother learns how to deal with the scarlet letter of shame and Dimmesdale feels guilt. When they decide to run away, Dimmesdale confesses his sin in public and he dies. The story end with the death of Chillingworth and all his belongings and property go to little Pearl. Pearl grows up and probably gets married and Hester becomes a mother for all women in need.

    Read More

  • Pearl in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the first of Pearl’s role in the story, it appears as though someone so grounded in her beliefs, spiritual and mental, would never be dynamic in character. However, that is not the case. This character analysis will explain the life of Pearl, and what she meant to other roles of The Scarlet Letter.

    Read More

  • What Is The Juxtaposition In The Scarlet Letter Chapter 14

    1360 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pearl is reluctant to approach Dimmesdale, and she throws a fit when she sees her mother’s scarlet letter on the ground along with her hair down. Pearl has assumed the role of a living scarlet letter, so when she sees the letter on the ground she sees herself being disregarded by her own mother. Hawthorne’s purpose of this chapter is simple, he wants the reader to understand what is happening through Pearl’s perspective. For her or for any child, change is hard, and Hawthorne clearly demonstrates this idea throughout this

    Read More

  • Children in the Scarlet Letter

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pearl and the other Puritan children have a huge role in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Pearl is displayed as very different from any of the other children in the book. The attitudes of the children tell the reader a lot about the lives of the Puritans. The story emphasizes that children were to be seen but not heard however, Hester chooses to let Pearl live a full and exciting life. Hester does not restrict pearl or hide her from anyone or anything. This is part of the reason that Pearl becomes such a colorful child. People see Pearl as a child of sin; the devil’s child. Pearl is quite the opposite. She is a happy and intelligent little girl. Pearl is born with an incredible sense of intuition. She sees the pain her mother feels but does not understand where the pain is coming from. Pearl knows somehow deep in her heart that Dimmesdale is her father. She takes a very strong liking to him. This makes it much harder on dimmesdale to work through the guilt seeing what a beautiful thing came from his terrible secret. Pearl serves as a blessing to and a curse to Hester. Hester Prynne loves her daughter dearly but she is a constant reminder of the mistakes she has made.

    Read More

  • Changes of Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    As a living reminder of Hester’s extreme sin, Pearl is her constant companion. From the beginning Pearl has always been considered as an evil child. For Hester to take care of such a demanding child, put lots of stress onto her life. Hester at times was in a state of uncontrollable pressure. “Gazing at Pearl, Hester Prynne often dropped her work upon her knees, and cried out with an agony which she would fain have hidden, but which made utterance for itself, betwixt speech and a groan, ‘O Father in heaven- if Thou art still my Father- what is this being which I have brought into the world!’” (Hawthorne, 77).

    Read More

  • Suffering from the Tolls of Sin in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pearl is an offspring of sin whose life revolves around the affair between her mother and Reverend Dimmesdale. Due to her mother's intense guilt during her upbringing, she is not able to become more than a mirror image of her surroundings; like a chameleon, she mimics everything around her, and the changes that occur externally affect her internally. Pearl stands out as a radiant child implicated by the sin of her parents. Without a doubt, if Pearl hadn't been born and such a burden had not been put upon Hester, she would have experienced a life without visible ridicule. It is only when the sin is publicly revealed that she is liberated by the truth.

    Read More

  • The Range of Emotions in the Novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathanial Hawthorne

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathanial Hawthorne, the author of The Scarlet Letter, provoked many emotions throughout his entire novel. The emotions ranged from grief to anticipation. Each character played an important role in the novel and I believe that each character evoked a different emotion in the reader. Three of the characters in which Nathanial Hawthorne demonstrates this are Hester Prynne, Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale and their daughter Pearl.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Pearl in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

    1820 Words  | 4 Pages

    Hawthorne uses vivid descriptions to characterize Pearl. She is first described as the infant, "...whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion." (Hawthorne 81). From the beginning of her life she is viewed as the product of a sin, as a punishment. Physically, she has a "beauty that became every day more brilliant, and the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child." (Hawthorne 81,82). Pearl is ravishing, with "beauty that shone with deep and vivid tints' a bright complexion, eyes possessing intensity both of depth and glow, and hair already of a deep, glossy brown, and which, in after years, would be nearly akin to black." Combining with her extreme beauty, are the lavish dresses that she wears. The exquisite dresses and her beauty cause her to be viewed as even stranger from the other typical Puritan children, whom are dressed in traditional clothing. As a result, she is accepted by nature and animals, and ostracized by the other Puritan children. "Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world... the whole peculiarity, in short, of her position in respect to other children." (Hawthorne 86). The children did not accept Pearl, her unavoidable seclusion was due to the ...

    Read More

  • The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Scarlet Letter is a blend of realism, symbolism, and allegory. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses historical settings for this fictional novel and even gives historical background information for the inspiration of the story of Hester Prynne in the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, ‘The Custom-House’. The psychological exploration of the characters and the author’s use of realistic dialogue only add to the realism of the novel. The most obvious symbol of the novel is the actual scarlet letter ‘A’ that Hester wears on her chest every day, but Hawthorne also uses Hester’s daughter Pearl and their surroundings as symbols as well. Allegory is present as well in The Scarlet Letter and is created through the character types of several characters in the novel.

    Read More

More about Love, Wild Emotion, And Forbidden Love : Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter

Open Document