Yin And Yang In Scarlet Letter

905 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Nathaniel Hawthorne Puritan in the Scarlet Letter

In Chinese Philosophy Yin and Yang, also known as Tai Chi, is a representation of two forces in the Universe. Yin is the passive, negative force, while Yang is the active, positive force. When pictured, Yin is black, and Yang is white. The symbol is a visual balance of Yin and Yang. However, in the middle of each, the opposite energy is apparent. This portrays that there is Yin in Yang (bad in the good) and Yang in Yin (good in the bad). Pearl, in Hawthorne's “The Scarlet Letter” is an accurate representation of Yang in more than one way. Pearl symbolizes an electric chain, she is much more than just the result of her parents’ sin, and she is the living “A.” French dramatist Jean Racine states, “There are no secrets that time does not reveal.” In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, we meet Hester Prynne who is, at the beginning of the novel, battling to keep her child’s father a secret. Eventually we come to find out that the father of her daughter, Pearl, is no other than minister Arthur Dimmesdale. However, if it had not been for Pearl, the reader might suspect that Hester and Arthur would have kept their relationship discreet. Arthur Dimmesdale seeks to hide the truth of his relationship with Hester Prynne, while she refuses to reveal the name of her child’s father to her husband, Chillingworth. As Racine said, secrets will be revealed in time, and eventually Pearl came along and became the one article that …show more content…

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

Show More
Related

  • Scarlet Letter

    434 Words  | 1 Pages

    The first theme expressed in The Scarlet Letter is that even well meaning deceptions and secrets can lead to destruction. Dimmesdale is a prime example of this; he meant well by concealing his secret relationship with Hester, however, keeping it bound up was deteriorating his health. Over the course of the book this fact is made to stand out by Dimmesdale’s changing appearance. Over the course of the novel Dimmesdale becomes more pale, and emaciated. Hester prevents herself from suffer the same fate. She is open about her sin but stays loyal to her lover by not telling who is the father of Pearl. Hester matures in the book; becomes a stronger character.

    Read More

  • The Scarlett Letter: Compybols And Symbolism In The Scarlet Letter

    1319 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pearl looks like the human version of the scarlet letter. Pearl is an example of the innocent result of sin. All the kids make fun of Pearl and they disclude her from everything. She never did anything wrong, but everyone treats her like she committed the sin also. Pearl acts out against the children that make fun of her and acts like a crazy child. She cannot control the sin that her parents committed. Hester accepts the Puritan way and sees Pearl as a creature of

    Read More

  • How Does The Pearl Change In The Scarlet Letter

    580 Words  | 2 Pages

    For the past month our class has been reading the scarlet letter. There has been some interesting topics that sometimes people skip as they're reading. When someone reads the scarlet letter they tend to think that the book is about Hester prynne who had affairs and died being buried to the person whom she had an affair with. But there's more to that. The story starts out with Hester prynne an adulterous women who ends up in jail with her baby named pearl. Later in the book you will found out that pearl was being called the “devils child” because of the sin that her mother had committed. Pearl changes throughout the book because she never really finds out who her father is. Reveren dimsdale is the

    Read More

  • 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

  • The Scarlet Letter and the Egg-carton

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a closed egg carton hides its contents from view, so the characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel hide their shame and secrets. Certain characters in The Scarlet Letter take great lengths to conceal their secret shame. Hester Prynne, the adulterous lover to Reverend Dimmesdale, lied in order to conceal the true meaning of her Scarlet Letter from her daughter, Pearl. Hester tells Pearl, "... as for the scarlet letter, I wear it for the sake of its gold-thread" (Hawthorne 166). Hester's guilt ridden lover, Reverend Dimmesdale, concealed his shame as well. As he himself phrased it, "Cowardice which invariably drew him back [from revealing he was Pearls father], with her tremulous gripe, just when the other impulse [remorse] had hurried him to the verge of a disclosure" (Hawthorne 136). In Dimmesdale's case, it was his fear of shame that kept him from acknowledging his part in Pearl's creation. Besides concealing their shame, the charact...

    Read More

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

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, a sinner, living in a puritan society. As punishment, she is forced to wear a scarlet letter on her chest. Her daughter Pearl is the product of her sinful ways, and a constant reminder of her wrongdoing. Pearl’s embodiment of the Scarlet Letter causes her hostile relationships with the world and her mother. However, when Dimmesdale kisses her, he frees her from isolation and allows her to form human connections.

    Read More

  • The Truth Shall Set You Free: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    The characters Hawthorne develops are deep, unique, and difficult to genuinely understand. Young, tall, and beautiful Hester Prynne is the central protagonist of this story. Shamefully, strong-willed and independent Hester is the bearer of the scarlet letter. Burning with emotion, she longs for an escape from her mark, yet simultaneously, she refuses to seem defeated by society’s punishment. Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale claims the secondary role in The Scarlet Letter; he is secretly Hester’s partner in adultery. Conflicted and grieved over his undisclosed act, he drives himself to physical and mental sickness. He fervently desires Hester, but should he risk his godly reputation by revealing the truth? Dimmesdale burns like Hester. Pearl, the child produced in Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin, is the third main character. She is fiery, passionate, perceiving, and strikingly symbolic; at one point in the novel she is referred to as “the scarlet letter endowed with life!” Inevitably, Pearl is consumed with questions about herself, her mother, and Dimmesdale. The reader follows Pearl as she discovers the truth. Altogether, Hawthorne’s use of intricately complex, conflicted ch...

    Read More

  • The Problem of Keeping a Secret in The Scarlet Letter

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    Everyone at some point has lied and kept a secret, but it depends on the situation you're in. In the first scene, Hester is pressured to tell the truth about the father’s name, but Hester refuses. This is an example of keeping a secret in order to keep someone else from harm; which in this case in Pastor Dimmesdale. Dimmesdale is a well known, honorable man who the town looks up to, but Hester doesn’t want for him to ruin his name, even if it means she has to live in ignominy. There are numerous accounts of secrecy displayed throughout the movie. In The Scarlet Letter it begins with Hester Prynne and her child, Pearl, being brought forth onto the scaffold to confess the father’s name. With his hand over his heart, Pastor Dimmesdale b...

    Read More

  • Duality in The Scarlet Letter

    671 Words  | 2 Pages

    The character Pearl in The Scarlet Letter exhibits duality. Pearl is viewed, by many, as a demon who is born into sin. Her mother, Hester, has an affair with a man outside of her marriage and gives birth to Pearl. Pearl is the physical embodiment of Hester’s sin. The narrator describes her as being an outcast in the world. He declares, “An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants” (Hawthorne 85). The townsfolk believe Pearl does not belong with other children because she is demon born from bitter sin. In the eyes of the Puritan community, Pearl ex...

    Read More

  • Essay on Light and Dark in The Scarlet Letter

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nathaniel Hawthorne's bold novel, The Scarlet Letter, effectively employs three major symbols: light, dark, and the scarlet letter.  The novel relies heavily on light and dark symbolism to represent the eternal struggle of good versus evil.

    Read More

  • Symbolism Used in The Scarlet Letter

    1071 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, symbolsim is constantly present in the actual scarlet letter “A” as it is viewed as a symbol of sin and the gradally changes its meanign, guilt is also a mejore symbol, and Pearl’s role in this novel is symbolic as well. The Scarlet Letter includes many profound and crucial symbols. these devices of symbolism are best portayed in the novel, most noticably through the letter “A” best exemplifies the changes in the symbolic meaning throughout the novel.

    Read More

  • Chillingworth's Revenge Quotes

    611 Words  | 2 Pages

    In “The Scarlet Letter,” the main character Hester get punished for adultery. In the beginning, she thought that her husband has died so she fell in love with Dimmesdale. However, her husband did not die and came back. Her husband, Chillingworth, later finds out that Hester has a secret lover. Therefore tried to find out who he is. At first Chillingworth does not reveal himself as Hester’s husband because she was being punished for adultery and he did not want to be ashamed. Later he tries to find out Hester’s secret lover by asking her but she will not tell him which makes him for desperate and angry. When he finds out that the secret lover is Dimmesdale, he finds out a secret about Dimmesdale.

    Read More

  • The Power of Secret Sin in The Scarlet Letter

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    One of the main themes in The Scarlet Letter is that of the secret.  The plot of the book is centered on Hester Prynne’s secret sin of adultery.  Nathaniel Hawthorne draws striking parallelism between secrets held and the physical and mental states of those who hold them.  The Scarlet Letter demonstrates that a secret or feeling kept within slowly engulfs and destroys the soul such as Dimmesdale’s sin of hypocrisy and Chillingworth’s sin of vengeance, while a secret made public, such as Prynne’s adultery, can allow a soul to recover and even strengthen.

    Read More

  • Children in the Scarlet Letter

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Pearl as a Symbol in The Scarlet Letter

    372 Words  | 1 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Yin And Yang In Scarlet Letter

Open Document