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Pearl In Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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Adultery comes with a price. It is an immoral act! Hester is rightfully found guilty of such thing, and has been punished for her wrongdoing. From her sin, her daughter, Pearl, is born. Hester should keep Pearl, a punishment and a blessing for her mother. For the purpose of punishment, the Puritans had sentenced Hester to serve time in prison and was forced to,”... for the remainder of her natural life, to wear a mark of shame upon her bosom.” the Scarlet Letter (Hawthorne 53). But these punishments did not serve a greater purpose than her daughter, Pearl; a child born from Hester’s sin. As a result of Pearl’s birth, Pearl is one of Hester’s punishments; one that serves a greater purpose than any other. Pearl is a constant reminder of the sin Hester had done. But Pearl served more than just that intention. She was,”... meant for a blessing; for the one blessing of her life! It was meant, doubtless, the mother herself hath told us, for retribution, too; a torture to be felt at many an unthought-of moment; a pang, a sting, an ever recurring agony, in the midst of a troubled joy! Hath she not expressed this thought in the garb of the poor child, so forcibly reminding us of that red symbol which sears her bosom?” (Hawthorne 91). Pearl is also a blessing rather than just a punishment for Hester. …show more content…

“... and a lonely woman backed by the sympathies of nature, on the other,-- Hester Prynne set forth from solitary cottage. Little Pearl, of course, was her companion. She was now of an age to run lightly along by her mother’s side, and, constantly in motion from morn to sunset, could have accomplished a much longer journey than that before her.” (Hawthorne 82). Hester loves her daughter, and she no longer felt solitude. With Pearl at her side, Hester can make up for her

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