Mortal Kombat: “A” vs “A” There are countless symbols seen throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s infamous novel: The Scarlet Letter. The most prominent symbol being the scarlet “A” brandished on Hester Prynne’s bosom, yet that is not the only “A” to make an appearance in the novel. For instance, in Chapter 15: Hester and Pearl, Hawthorne describes young Pearl creating a mermaid outfit and for the finishing touch she fashions an “A” out of eelgrass on her bosom (Hawthorne 155). Even though Hester and Pearl’s “A” are positioned in the same spot, they have multiple variations in meaning and appearance. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester is sentenced to wear the “A” on her bosom as her punishment for adultery and birthing a child out of wedlock (Hawthorne …show more content…
Since Pearl was basically glued to her mother’s hip, she adapted to Hester’s moods, personality, hobbies, and wardrobe, in a sense. In Chapter 15: Hester and Pearl, Hester and Pearl are on the beach where Hester is conversing with Chillingworth while Pearl is making a mermaid outfit (Hawthorne 155). Pearl utilizes skills for devising drapery and costume she earned from her mother, yet that is not the only thing she picked up from her mother. “As the last touch to her mermaid’s garb, Pearl took some eel-grass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother’s. A letter,-the letter A,-” (Hawthorne 155). Pearl had always noticed the scarlet “A” and was fascinated by it. She always threw flowers at the badge to show her interest (Hawthorne 87). Hester even thought that Pearl was possessed by an evil spirit when Pearl touched the letter with such curiosity, showing symptoms of madness in the human psyche (Hawthorne 88). Even though Pearl and Hester have their “A” in the same spot on their chest, they differ in a plethora of ways. The namely reason being the coloration of the letter as well as the material. Hester’s “A” was red made from a cloth that was not of nature, while Pearl’s “A” was green and made from a natural substance. With the rules of dark romanticism, this shows that Hester’s “A” represented the evil in nature and