Pearl In The Scarlet Letter Essay

She touches the scarlet letter, but little does she know that she is the reason for the punishment. One of the most complex characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Throughout the story, she develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol. Pearl is shunned from society due to her mother's sin. She is a living representation of the scarlet letter, acting as a constant reminder of Hester's sin. Pearl is the indicator of a transgression and the physical consequence of sexual sin. However, although considered as a curse, Pearl is also a blessing. She is a reminder to Hester about the passion and spirit that was put into risk that sin. Seymour Gross,

Throughout the novel, Pearl develops into a dynamic symbol - a symbol that is always changing in meaning. Although Pearl changes a multitude amount of times throughout the novel, part of what she symbolizes is evil. Pearl symbolizes evil in the story by representing God's punishment of Hester's sin, symbolizing the guilt and the scarlet letter ‘A’ that controls her behavior, and defying Puritan laws by being cheerful and associating with nature. Pearl represents God's punishment by her nagging and mocking of Hester. Pearl is described as a "rich and luxuriant beauty; a 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" (Hawthorne 86). With the use of these descriptions, it leads to believe that the Puritans thought of her to be a demon offspring. Pearl is always put in such a positive description but the society still feels as though only a devil would be able to be something good in the time

Pearl is both a blessing and a wicked reminder of her past to Hester. All human beings are naturally endowed with good qualities as well as bad qualities. A steady combination of both is what makes an interesting and assertive individual. Pearl is the complete fulfillment of Hester’s roles as someone with passion. As time passes and the novel continues, Hester’s determination shines through. Many people in the Puritan community “refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman's strength." (158). At first, the scarlet letter was seen as a sin that Hester has committed, but as the novel progresses, the significance and meaning of the scarlet letter changes to a more positive thing. This is where a spectrum of intuition versus intellect comes in. Intuition is when a person follows the thoughts of their heart and what they feel. This is based more on immediate reaction and what most people today would refer to as a ‘gut-feeling’. On the other hand, intellect is when a person follows the thoughts of their mind and what they think. Intellect is based on a series of reactions and thinking about possible outcomes before commencing. Compared to Hester, Pearl is a static user of intuition, whereas she is a overall dynamic individual. Her thoughts are a constant and she always