The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a dynamic and powerful novel. This novel gains part of its power because of the way that Hawthorne uses his characters in order to create a sense of understanding and to develop the themes throughout the novel. Each different character helps prove a point, and one such character would be little Pearl. Pearl is a child born from sin so to speak, as in her mother and father were unmarried when she was conceived and remained unmarried throughout Pearl’s lifetime. Whether it be due to the scandal that surrounded her birth or the mystery she is so bound to solve, Pearl has some interesting characteristics and they shed this new light on the world. Pearl is meant to be a symbol of sin, mystery, and redemption. …show more content…
She is also a symbol for the unsolved mystery. Growing up Pearl is obsessed with the scarlet letter and why her mother wears it, and after she makes the connection as to who her dad is before the rest of society does, she questions why he keeps his hand over his heart. Starting at infancy “that first object of which Pearl seemed to become aware was- shall we say it?- the scarlet letter on Hester’s bosom.” From there it became a game to her and “she amused herself with gathering handfuls of wild-flowers and flinging them, one by one, at her mother’s bosom, dancing up and down like a little elf whenever she hit the scarlet letter.” Throughout her life, this obsession with the mystery pursues with question after question. She needed to know what the letter means, why her mother wears it, it is like she is the driving force that leads to the mystery being solved. She asks Hester question after question, but whenever she encounters the minister, her desire to solve the mystery and live freely comes forth even more and she asks him to ”stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide?” Furthermore, she presses again on the beach, insisting that her mother cannot get away without answering her questions. She even “...took her mother’s hand in both her own, and gazed into her eyes with an earnestness that was seldom seen in her wild and capricious character. The thought occurred to Hester, that the child might really be seeking to …show more content…
She was begotten through what according the Puritans, would be considered a very sinful situation. So in the eyes of the Puritans, she is just as full of sin. Plus on top of that she does not get along with other children and is very isolated, making the Puritan’s view her as the Devil’s child. However, she really is more innocent and full of light. She is not the Devil’s child but instead a gift from God who manages to follow the light, almost literally, and through her constant push, redeems her parent’s. To start, Pearl follows the light. From a young age, which is typical of most children, she was attracted to pretty shiny things. From there, she could be seen playing in the light and enjoying the sunshine and nature as if they were her only companions. This is even more evident in the forest when Pearl is walking along with her mother and begins chasing the sunlight. “Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Pearl is noticing that the sunlight loves her and not her mother. However, Pearl is a physical embodiment of Hester’s sin, and yet the sunlight welcomes her. In fact, as she began to chase the light she “...did actually catch the sunshine, and stood laughing in the midst of it, all brightened by its splendor, and scintillating with the vivacity excited by rapid motion. The light lingered about the lonely child, as
Symbolism plays a very important part in Scarlet Letter because it helps to identify characters and the main ideas of the story. It can help a reader to visualize and understand the meaning of the story better when there are symbols to help explain the meaning of something. Hawthorne uses Hester Prynne, Pearl, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale as symbols all throughout the book. They are the main characters of the story and they all overcome some difficulties in the end. They all have important roles in the book.
Like Yin and Yang, Pearl generates all things around her and is a necessity to this story. Without Pearl, there would be no story. Pearl teaches everyone in the novel and the readers that someone or something can be what brings two people together, good outcomes can arise from irresponsible choices, and finally that in our own way we all symbolize something greater than we consider ourselves to
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
Pearl is a symbol of Hester’s transgressions and even has similar qualities as the sin which she represents. Pearl’s life and behavior directly reflects the unacceptable and abnormal nature of Hester’s adulterous sin. Hester is plagued with more than just a letter “A”; she is given a child from her affair who is just as much a reminder of her sin as the scarlet letter. Ultimately Hester overcomes the shame associated the scarlet letter and creates a sense of family for herself and Pearl. This relationship is integral to the theme of this novel and the development of its characters.
From the moment she is born in the cold, heartless prison, Pearl is placed under scrutiny. The townspeople see her as a visible reminder of sin, and it isn't long until even her own mother searches for evil in her. The girl is described as "the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life!"(Hawthorne 103). With her fascination from an early age with the scarlet letter, Hester believes that Pearl's very reason for existence is to torment her mother. Hester fails to realize that the letter is just something bright and significant to which Pearl reacts; instead, she sees every glance, every word aimed at the letter, every touch of Pearl's tiny fingers to her bosom as an added torture resulting from her adultery. Hester, considering Pearl's very existence, goes so far as to question if the impish child is even her own. "Thou art not my child! Thou art no Pearl of mine!"(Hawthorne 99) she tells Pearl, only half-jokingly. In her own way, she wonders whether Pearl was sent to her by God or by a demon wishing to cause her pain. She is not alone in this speculation; many of the town's citizens believe there is something of the Devil in Pearl.
Pearl’s ever-changing moods and temperaments secure her as Hawthorne’s most prominent symbol in The Scarlet Letter. Pearl, the impish girlish creature, symbolizes many elements in Hawthorne’s book. Hester’s love for Pearl is never misplaced in the tale, but the reader gains a sense of contempt. Hester believes that without Pearl, she would not have survived the seven long years of exile from the Puritan society. Her daughter’s varying personality traits brings about a sense of joy and a change in her monotonous life.
In this scene, the reader is able to see inside Hester's head. One is able to observe the utter contempt she holds for the Puritan ways. She exhibits he love and respect for the father of her child, when she refuses to relinquish his name to the committee. The reader can see her defiant spirit due to these actions.
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.
When being questioned on the identity of her child’s father, Hester unflinchingly refuses to give him up, shouting “I will not speak!…my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one!” (47). Hester takes on the full brunt of adultery, allowing Dimmesdale to continue on with his life and frees him from the public ridicule the magistrates force upon her. She then stands on the scaffold for three hours, subject to the townspeople’s disdain and condescending remarks. However, Hester bears it all “with glazed eyed, and an air of weary indifference.” (48). Hester does not break down and cry, or wail, or beg for forgiveness, or confess who she sinned with; she stands defiantly strong in the face of the harsh Puritan law and answers to her crime. After, when Hester must put the pieces of her life back together, she continues to show her iron backbone and sheer determination by using her marvelous talent with needle work “to supply food for her thriving infant and herself.” (56). Some of her clients relish in making snide remarks and lewd commends towards Hester while she works, yet Hester never gives them the satisfaction of her reaction.
Pearl had a great role in the scarlet letter. Her differences from the other Puritan children showed the reader the effect Pearls life had on her personality. Pearl was seen as the Devil’s child or a child from sin. Pearl proved to be quite the opposite, although she wasn't quite a human character but more of a symbol she added a touch of love and beauty to a story filled with hate and pain. Pearl really was the ray of sunshine in this world. Though she came from something seen as a sin she was truly a blessing. She helped her mom through her times of grief and she brought Dimmesdale out of hiding. In the end she was the only pure and true individual. Pearl was an amazing child who gave this story light.
The guilt that now rests in Hester is overwhelming to her and is a reason for her change in personality. The secrets Hester keeps are because she is silent and hardly talks to anyone. “Various critics have interpreted her silence. as both empowering. and disempowering. Yet silence, in Hester’s case, offers a type of passive resistance to male probing”
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.
Hawthorne uses Pearl to work on the consciences of both her mother Hester and her father Arthur Dimmesdale. He uses her to work on Hester’s conscience throughout the novel by little comments made or actions taken by Pearl that appear to be mean or spiteful towards her mother. For example, Pearl laughs and points at her mother’s scarlet letter as if making fun of it or to make Hester feel bad about it. Hawthorne also uses Pearl’s perceptiveness to point out very straight forwardly, her mother’s sin of adultery. Pearl has almost a supernatural sense, that comes from her youth and freewill for seeing things as they really are and pointing them out to her mother. Pearl is a living version of her mother's scarlet letter. She is the consequence of sin and an everyday reminder to her through her actions and being.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, is a symbol of sin and adultery in the sense that she leads Dimmsdale and Hester to their confession and the acceptance of their sins. A beauitful daughter of the towns adulturist has somtimes demon like traits. She is also the only living symblol of the scarlet letter "A". In another way Pearl also makes a connection between Dimmsdale and Hester.
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 ...