What Does Abel Symbolize In The Scarlet Letter

Back in the mid 1630s, Puritans were still colonizing the Americas and starting their own personal life. One specific colony, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, is where the setting for The Scarlet Letter takes place. Religion was the basis of life for the English settlers, so infidelity was seen as a sin to them, a sin so unfathomable to the settlers that severe punishment resulting in death was seen as perfectly acceptable to them. The colonists were appalled, after Hester’s adultery and the birth of Pearl. The authors Darrel Abel, Ann Marie McNamara, and Millicent Ball review the symbolism and purpose behind the character Pearl in The Scarlet Letter, but while Abel believe Pearl is a symbol of nature, McNamara views Pearl as more than a symbol,

In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl was born from an illicit relationship, so she is seen as an illegitimate, devil child by many of the villagers. But, readers such as Abel may have a different interpretation than what the settlers originally think because of the era difference. At the beginning of the article, Abel states, “She is a type—the Universal Child. She expresses Hawthorne’s conceptions of child-nature in itself, child-nature as a phase of human development, and the significance of children in relation to the system of reality in which they play a part” (50). In the beginning, Pearl’s maturation is easily affected by both her parentage and human nurture. Her relationship with society was unusual because she was shunned for being an illegitimate child, but this hurdle further deepened the bond between Hester and Pearl. Human interaction to Pearl was essential for her growth even if the relationship itself was flawed as seen by her questionable relationship with society. This all relates back to how Pearl has the title as a Child of Nature because she has a certain connection with the natural world and can be seen forming relationships with that world. “Pearl’s relationship with Nature was intensified, like her relationship with her mother, by her ostracism. Hester’s dwelling on the verge of the forest, at the outskirts of the

The period difference along with the differing religious views set many opportunities for other authors to analyze and explain their view behind the character Pearl and what she symbolized. Each author has their own opinion and every time their article is published, it is similar to reading a whole new story through their eyes. Darrel Abel’s view on Pearl was a child-nature concept with a touch of spirituality and morality. Ann Marie McNamara’s opinion on Pearl was similar to Abel in spirit concept but she viewed Pearl as more than a figure. Meanwhile, Millicent Ball considered Pearl as a hieroglyphic figure while touching the on the subject of nature. All three articles did have similarities, but they were all distinct in their own way. Darrel Abel, Ann Marie McNamara, and Millicent Ball wrote articles about Pearl, but Abel wrote about Pearl as a Child of Nature, McNamara saw Pearl as more than a figure and instead a spirit-child, while Ball believed Pearl was a hieroglyphic symbol with her own