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Despite her success she continues to feel lonely and is well aware of her alienation. Hester’s alienation is similar to that of Pearls because they are both described as outcasts and treated as such. Pearl is naturally at odds with the strict rules of their society, mainly because of all the time she spends with Hester, she has inherited all of
She is responsible for all of the hate that is portrayed upon Hester. However, what pearl represents to Hester, is her wild side, how she can be herself and not care about what the town thinks. In chapter 14 Hester and Pearl are at the beach, “Hester bade little Pearl run down to the margin of the water,and play with the shells and tangles sea-weed, until she should have talked awhile with yonder gatherer of herbs. So the child flew away like a bird, and, making bare her small white feet, went pattering along the moist margin of the sea...the image of a little maid, whom Pearl, having no other playmate, invited to take her hand, and run a race with her. ”(154) Pearl is happy and free and influences Hester be the same way.
Although, to Hester, Pearl’s “Peculiarity...should correspond with the guiltiness to which she owed her being” (85). Again, Hester thinks that if Pearl is abnormal it is due to her sin, and that she must deal with Pearl, to rid herself of her guilt. Not long after Hester is released from prison,
In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl starts of as a secondary character as the novel progresses Pearl becomes significant to many of the key events of the story. Some examples of this are the scene in the scaffold at night, when Hester meets Dimmsdale in the woods, and when she makes the connection about the letter in her mother's bosom and the reason why the minister holds his hand on his chest. Pearl is a very intuitive, smart, wild and clever child; and at her young age is impressive how this child knows who to trust. She is acts as Hester's conscience as the novel progresses in many ways. Pearl is a very intuitive character making her more interesting.
Hawthorne states, “... Hester could not help questioning at such moments whether Pearl was a human child. She seemed rather an airy sprite…” (Hawthorne 52). Even though some people see Pearl as a child of the devil, she is actually just a little kid whose mother’s actions reflected badly on her life and made people’s views of her distorted.
Hester fundamentally wishes Pearl to keep up a feeling of etiquette and not reveal her mom 's secret and the family’s plan to escape. On another level,
Her constant questioning about her father unknowing creates hostility between her and her mother. The one person Pearl has in her life is Hester, who continuously cast her away to be alone. Another example of how Pearl's upbringing caused her to be lonely, is when she recognizes her fate of loneliness. Pearl is born an outcast since she is the product of sin in a christian world. She is a symbol of sin and therefore, does not fit in with the Puritan society that she is surrounded with.
Pearl is the living embodiment of of the scarlet letter. Pearl constantly reminds Hester of her sins, without meaning to. Whenever she asks questions about Dimmesdale or about the scarlet letter, Hester is reminded of the things she did wrong. Pearl is very smart child, and she likes to ask questions and learn about things. If she sees something that confuses her, she will ask her mother about it.
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is set in 17th century Boston, during the Puritan era. The novel illustrates the Puritan’s grave religious rules; however, it is rather a criticism of their belief. The Puritans in the novel believe that men are in a higher position than women; they are the leaders of the households, so they have a right to make all important decisions, while women just exist to take responsibility of housework and children. This biased family setting establishes the way women are treated and how earthly sins are grimly punished in Puritan society. In The Scarlet Letter, the letter “A” has various meanings depending upon different contexts; it not only projects the obvious meaning of adultery, but also changes into a sign of isolation, and finally becomes a symbol of ability.
This child is not meant to be a realistic character but rather a symbol of Hester’s sin, blessing and scarlet letter. Pearl is the scarlet letter, a blessing and curse, and the love and passion of a dangerous relationship. More than a child Pearl is a symbol of the love and passion between Hester and the minister. Pearl is a symbol that connect her parents forever even if they couldn’t be together. The narrator says, “God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonoured bosom, to connect her parent forever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven!”(86)
As stated in chapter six, "Her [Hester] only real comfort was when the child lay in the placidity of sleep. Then she was sure of her, and tasted hours of quiet, sad, delicious happiness; until—perhaps with that perverse expression glimmering from beneath her opening lids—little Pearl awoke!" (Hawthorne X) Pearl is Hester 's greatest treasure, but she cost Hester everything. Because of Pearl, Hester has no chance at a happy life, but Pearl brings her happiness. Pearl is almost like a paradox.
And what is the reaction of Hester Prynne? Will she forgive herself? With expected, she won’t since the alive letter around her – litter Pearl, who is sometimes a angel and sometimes a evil, whose and also, she was uninhabited and capricious: She was a live scarlet letter. However, she could puncture a fallacy with one remark.
Amanda Vicente The Scarlet Letter Reading Response AP English Language Period J 16 August 2016 Journal Entry 1: Chapters 1-2 In The Scarlet Letter, the author sets a mood from the beginning of the book. The setting is old and beat up in front of an aged wooden prison with judgmental Puritans ready to tear a women apart. The Puritans are hypocrites and the author portrays that in the story.
The place of isolation can become the place of revelation. The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of Hester Prynne's life after having a child, Pearl, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth, was away and having to live with an A on her chest for adultery. The father of the child, Arthur Dimmesdale, had to live with the guilt and beat himself because of it and the truth remained a secret to almost everyone, except Chillingworth, who planned to get revenge on him because of his sin. Chillingworth became evil and changed because he wanted revenge on Dimmesdale and the guilt made Dimmesdale feel sick. Dimmesdale died after he told everyone the truth and Pearl gained a sense of compassion when she saw him dying.
Some of the differences between these two characters are also what makes them alike, as well as setting them apart from the rest of the characters in the book. Hester and Dimmesdale’s need to repent and face their punishments in their own ways leads the reader through the book with surprises at every turn. The characters face challenges from holding in a secret, and facing a punishment all relating to the same actions taken before the book begins. Hester, the mother of Pearl ,as well as the main character, was
