In Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, Pearl abandons her once wild, untamed nature for a mature and humane lifestyle, because of her father's public confession. Pearl is originally described as a wild, inhumane child with no regards to the laws of both the town and the Puritan society. Pearl often surprised her mother with her elfish behavior: “It was a look so intelligent...but generally accompanied by a wild flow of spirits, that hester could not help questioning, at such moments, whether Pearl was a human child” (Hawthorne 84). At first Pearl can be seen acting out in direct defiance to the law.
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,
The townspeople often despised Pearl, due to her being a representation of her mother's sin. In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne describes Pearl as being a real life image as adultery. Hester is constantly reminded of her sin, just by seeing and raising Pearl everyday. Though Hester is reminded about her sin, she takes on the task of being a mother of Pearl. Hester loved Pearl, even though she had to go through a lot to keep her.
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.
Throughout the passage from The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester’s baby, Pearl, to illuminate the theme of beauty in a dark place. Once released from prison, Hester, an adulterer, becomes a public spectacle. Through this hard time, Hester has her daughter Pearl to soothe her and to bring her strength and hope for a better future. By using vivid imagery and juxtaposition, Hawthorne depicts Pearl as Hester’s happiness, light, and beauty during a sad and lonely time. While in Prison, Hester is all alone and depressed.
One of the most multifaceted, elaborate, and symbolic characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Although she is fairly young during the majority of this novel, she possesses the unique ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks them pointed questions and draws their attention to the repudiated or disregarded truths of the adult world. This typically would be unusual behavior for a child her age, but she continually acts abnormal throughout the majority of The Scarlet Letter. Her symbolism catches the attention of the reader and characters as well.
Pearl’s ability to demonstrate resilience, not only from the perpetual shame her and her mother face, but in regards to her rejection of the everbearing religious institution in her society, is truly remarkable. To some in the colony, the circumstances in which she was born is enough to consider her a demon child, and she is treated accordingly. While her and Hester are being harassed by a group of towns children during their journey to the Governor's mansion, Pearl decides to act “With a variety of threatening gestures… and put them all to flight” (69). This moment, in addition to substantiating the proposition of Pearl’s resilience to her family shame, demonstrates to the reader that Pearl possesses a considerable self-awareness of the impression her circumstances of birth have on the people of the town. Pearl, even being a little girl, has the ability make a crowd of hasslers disperse with merely a few hostile gestures.
“Again, as if her mother’s agonized gesture were meant only to make sport for her, did little Pearl look into her eyes, and smile!” (p 82). Pearl herself being the product of sin, is a constant reminder to her mother that the scarlet letter cannot be neglected. Hawthorne shows this symbolism various times throughout the story. In Chapter two, during the first scaffold scene when Hester tries to hide away her scarlet letter with Pearl, Hawthorne indicates how useless that would be, considering that Pearl is the personification of her sin.
Pearl’s estranged behavior is believed to be a result of the way she was conceived through sin, which is just another example of how Pearl is the physical representation and constant reminder of Hester’s sin. Towards the end of the book, Pearl is finally allowed to be a real human being once Dimmesdale confesses his sin. In Chapter 23, Hawthorne writes, “The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father’s cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy…” (Hawthorne 142).
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, we are gathered here today to discuss the well-being of Pearl Prynne. A child who was born illegitimately to a woman, who is married, and a man who remains unknown. It is true that Hester’s husband has not been heard from in the past two years, but that is no excuse to have an affair with another man. However, we are not here to talk about Hester’s mistakes, we are here to discuss what is best for Pearl. Pearl Prynne is known for her wild fits of rage.
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.
“And here I am, again… I could die because of this “rebellion”; I mean after every torture I have suffered, I don’t want you to ignore the situation we have to deal with. I really don’t care about myself anymore; they have taken off every single thing I used to long for, even my life as everyone’s here, and we are all robots without souls, as they have wanted it to be since always. Nothing is good ever. Even that I know the truth.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne is publicly shamed for committing adultery, but does not reveal the name of the father of her child. This child, Pearl, is frequently seen by many as a devil-child because of this, even though she has not committed any sin. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne's development of appearance versus reality through the treatment of Pearl reveals how one’s perception can be easily altered by social stigma. The Puritan society constantly eschews Pearl because of the fear that she will eventually emulate the sin she descends from.
It is quite obvious in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter that Pearl, Hester Prynne 's daughter, plays a major role. Not only is she one of the main characters, but she is prevalent theme in the novel, as well. Pearl is not written like a regular character. Most of the other symbols in the story, such as the scarlet letter or the rose bush, lead back to Pearl. Pearl takes on many symbols and serves great purpose.
Emma Lynch Mrs. Oliveros American Literature H November 7, 2016 Do Not Judge a Book by its Cover Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter demonstrates the numerous conflicts that can arise between the citizen and community. One of the main characters, Pearl, exhibits the theme of “Appearance vs. Reality” since the community sees her as a symbol of sin, yet she is actually the complete opposite. Hester Prynne, Pearl’s mother, committed a sin with Dimmesdale, and Pearl was the outcome of their affair.
