Charley Haas
Period 5
How Dualities Shape Pearl and Hester
Oscar Wilde once said, “What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.” When Wilde says this he is referring to the good and bad, or dualities, in everything. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses dualities in two of the most important characters, Hester and Pearl. He uses these dualities to shape the characters emotions and actions as they are oppressed and isolated by the society around them. In the Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses dualities to show how it is imperative for Pearl and Hester stay true to themselves instead of conforming to societal standards.
The main view of Pearl is extremely negative. Society sees her as simply a demon born to sin. Because Hester
…show more content…
In the story, Hawthorne also depicts Pearl as the literal scarlet letter Hester has to bear. He says that Pearl has the “likeness of a scarlet letter.”(Hawthorne 70) Pearl is also often depicted in bright colors, just like the bright red scarlet letter. Pearl, just like Hester, is very isolated in society. She is described as “an imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants.” (Hawthorne 85) Since she was villainized by society, Pearl had to decide wether to be more like society and try to be accepted or be herself. Even the other children werent allowed around Pearl, in fear of her sinfulness. On the other side of Pearl, there is a light, free spirited, imaginative girl that stands for everything the puritan religion despises; individuality and nonconformity. Pearl is also described as a passionate, intelligent, and vigorous person. …show more content…
She is a recently convicted adulteress. The Puritan community thinks of her as the worst sinner. The community describes her as the, "unhappy culprit," (Hawthorne 53) and, “the common infamy at which all mankind is summoned to point its finger.” (Hawthorne 72) The community collectively believes it is their right and calling to shame her. They also believe that Hester, “embody their images of women’s sinful passion.” (Hawthorne 73) Hester is fully blamed for the sin she committed, even though adultery is a two-way street. Hester was insulted at scaffold as part of her punishment for three hours. While there, the Puritans called her names like "naughty baggage," (Hawthorne 49) and "brazen huzzy." (Hawthorne 51) The Puritans were so rude, they were described as “pitiless… self-constituted judges.” (Hawthorne 51). The sad truth about Hester 's situation is that she is the best of all the Puritans, but receives the most punishment. She is forced to take all of the blame for a sin that was not all her fault. She is completely compliant with her punishment. This entire situation leads to Hester acting with more humility, instead of lashing out like most people would. Hester also goes against societal standard by giving to charity and sewing garments for the poor. Hawthorne on page 75 mentions her willingness to give by saying she “bestows all her superfluous means to charity.” One of the larger aspects of Hester is her honesty. When
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,
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.
Stroner’s article,The Scarlet Sin: Analyzing Secrets in The Scarlet Letter, shows that Hester’s endurement of her sin, Dimmesdale's coping with is sin, and the meaning of Pearl are all combined to give the novel worth. Despite sharing the same sin, both Hester and Dimmesdale confronted it in different ways. Hester confronted her sin, while Dimmesdale secretly dealt with it. I believe Hawthorne is trying to encourage the audience to not keep secrets to yourself, but rather be brave and embrace them. The theme of this novel is to be true to
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.
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...
One of the most complex and elaborate characters in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol. Pearl is involved in a complex history, and as a result is viewed as different and is shunned because of her mother’s sin. Pearl is a living Scarlet A to Hester, as well as the reader, acting as a constant reminder of Hester’s sin. This connection leads to many different views of Pearl’s character.
She represents the sacrifice hester had to make. She is often attracted to the Scarlet letter often reaching for it as a baby and creating one as a child. Pearl is an outcast of society and is often left out when other kids play. She is referred to as the “demon child”, “elf”, and “imp”. Despite all of this Pearl is strong throughout the whole book. She posses qualities that, “...look so intelligent, yet inexplicable, perverse, sometimes so malicious, but generally accompanied by a wild flow of spirits, that Hester could not help questioning at such moments whether Pearl was a human child ” (PAGE#) often let Hester wondering if she was human. Pearl is a strong force that walks along the line of what is morally and ethically correct and what is not. She knows her father is at fault because he will not come forward with his family, in the light. She often tries to convince of his wrong doing, while Hester looks the other way.When he rejects her in the forest Pearl does not stand for it and immediately washes away his kiss; he has given her. Pearl is never satisfied until he comes forward. She remains strong on her beliefs of what is ethically correct and not. Pearl is often stronger than Pearl even though she is more
Initially Pearl is the symbol of Hesters public punishment for her adultery. As the novel progresses and Pearl matures she symbolizes the deteriation of Hester's like by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter "A". Pearl in a sense wants her mother to live up to her sin and, she achieves this by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter. Another peice of evidence that shows how Pearl symbolizes the sin Hester has committed, is when the town government wants to take Pearl away from her Revrend Dimmsdale convinces the government that Pearl is a living reminder of her sin. This is essentialy true, Hester without Pearl is like having Hester without sin.
The Scarlet Letter presents duality amongst all of the characters. Hugo Mcpherson stated, “Hawthorne’s rejection of the Calvinist view of human nature, however, does not lead him to espouse the cause of man’s “natural goodness,” the Transcendental view. For him there is an ideal, perfect realm, and an imperfect, human realm. Human nature is inevitably imperfect. But the fatal error of the Puritans is their failure to recognize all of man’s gifts – to achieve an integration of all of man’s forces. The Puritan life is a half-life, and it outcome is likely to be tragic.” Mcpherson refers to the “half-life” of the Puritans in failing to recognize both good and bad sides of human nature, which stands true in the novel. Many characters in The
Pearl, Hester's child, is portrayed Puritanically, as a child of sin who should be treated as such, ugly, evil, and shamed. The reader more evidently notices that Hawthorne carefully, and sometimes not subtly at all, places Pearl above the rest. She wears colorful clothes, is extremely smart, pretty, and described as impish. More often than not, she shows her intelligence and free thought, a trait of the Romantics. One of Pearl's Favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees. The reader will recall that anything affiliated with the forest was evil to Puritans. Hawthorne, however, thought that the forest was beautiful and natural. "And she was gentler here [in the forest] than in the grassy- margined streets of the settlement, or in her mother's cottage. The flowers appeared to know it" Pearl fit in with natural things. Also, Pearl is always effervescent and joyous, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans. Pearl is used as a symbol mirroring between the Puritanical views and the Romantic ways.
Pearl is said to symbolize the result of sin but her character as a child have placed an innocent view of her contribution to the story. As any mother would accept their child she have accepted her “… torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too!”(Hawthorne 38). Hester “represent the violation of social contract” (Egan1), because of her simple imperfection of “struggles to meet the social demands.
A pearl is a precious thing; the finest example of something; pure, white, sinless. However, this distinct character, Pearl is unwanted, a sign of transgression, taint, dirty, and full of sin. In The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne commits adultery and has a baby named Pearl who is the symbol of her mother's sin. Pearl is a rebellious outcast within The Scarlet Letter. She plays a role in key narrative events and due to the embodiment of her mother's sin her actions represent her identity.
Light and Dark Light and dark is an everyday aspect of life, The Scarlet Letter really reveals how light and dark everyone can be. Though it was sometimes hard to read, the book made me think more about the good and evil in everyone. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne uses the symbols of light and dark to depict good and evil among the characters Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Hester Prynne is considered a light and dark character in the book; many of the things that are noticeable about Hester in the book involve the sunshine. Hester explains this to Pearl in the book “Thou must gather thine own sunshine I have none to give thee” (Hawthorne 95).
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
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.