ipl-logo

Perverse Merriment In Scarlet Letter

412 Words2 Pages

In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the narrator describes Pearl by using many seemingly evil words. Even with these negative words, Pearl is still the light for Hester. The narrator described Pearl “… was in one of those moods of perverse merriment…” (Hawthorne 106). In that quotation, the phrase “perverse merriment” stands out. Perverse means showing a desire to behave in an unacceptable manor. Merriment would be full of happiness. The narrator is saying that Pearl is acting gleeful in a way that is unacceptable. Later the narrator goes on the state, “She [Pearl] now skipped irreverently from one grave to another; until, coming to the broad, flat, armorial tombstone of a departed worthy … she began to dance upon it.” (Hawthorne …show more content…

They, then, call here an imp. An imp is a small mischievous devil. This word has a negative denotative meaning, as well as a negative connotative meaning. By using the word imp, the narrator is telling us that Pearl has some sort of dark side to her. That even though she is happy and gleeful always, there is some sort of immoral darkness to her. This is why the narrator used the phrase perverse merriment. Pearl is having all the fun she wants even though her actions are considered wrong or sinful to the town. With all of this in mind, it helps the narrator to make people see the truth about Pearl. As stated before there is an immoral darkness to Pearl. The immoral part about her could be how she was conceived. Pearl is the result of the sin of adultery between Hester and her lover. Pearl’s darkness or immorality could be the consequence of having her. Even with all of this, Hester still views Pearl as her world. She loves Pearl very much and doesn’t know what to do without her. Hester gave up everything she had for Pearl. With how Pearl is describe, all of the words with negative connotative meanings, the reader would think that Pearl is a burden to her mother, Hester, and to the people of the Massachusetts Bay

Show More
Related
1464 Words | 6 Pages

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,

Read More
465 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
849 Words | 4 Pages

There are many ways in which Pearl serves as a symbol, whether it’s the way she dresses, or the vehement attitude which seems to reflect the adulterous act in which she was conceived. Functioning as a symbol in multiple ways, Pearl catches the attention of many. One way that the young girl is symbolic is how she constantly serves as a reminder of her mothers passion. Her mother, Hester, realizes this during the first

Read More
1073 Words | 5 Pages

For example, “A wolf … came up and smelt Pearl’s robe, and offered his savage head to be patted by her hand” (140). Finally, the similarities between Pearl and the forest show that nature can be a symbol for Pearl. Hawthorne portrays Pearl an innocent child who symbolizes moral freedom. She is not destined to commit the same sins as her mother. It is Pearl’s pwn choice to choose if she wants to act the same way as Hester, or learn from Hester’s mistakes.

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

Killing a mother was beyond the cogitable for the town officials. Consequently, Pearl would teach Hester a lesson. From that day, Pearl was Hester 's everything. A glimmer of hope in Hester’s life that had become amiss. “ She named the infant ‘Pearl,’ as being of great price—purchased with all she had—her mother’s only treasure!

Read More
950 Words | 4 Pages

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.

Read More
502 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
550 Words | 3 Pages

Pearl serves as a living symbol of sin. Because Dimmesdale would not openly accept her as his daughter (and as his sin) she would not openly accept him as her father. Pearl has been punished since she was a baby because of the sins of her parents’. Her mother was forced to hold her in the sun for 3 hours everyday, Pearl and her mother were forced to live on the outside of town, she didn’t get to play with any kids her own age, and other kids will point and make fun of her when she walks through town. She is an innocent child who is punished because of her parents

Read More
562 Words | 3 Pages

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.

Read More
748 Words | 3 Pages

In many parts of the novel she is described as a demon child or elf-child. She is mean, obstinate, and has a fierce temper. Hester says, “She is my torture!”(109) Hester is literally saying that Pearl is not only a blessing but also a curse. Pearl is often evil to everyone even to her mother, but was this Pearls nature, or was it just a reaction of her being isolated and looked down since childhood?

Read More
492 Words | 2 Pages

Pearl is described as being a kind of “wild-child”. She doesn’t listen to her mother ever and is definitely not like the other children in her town. She doesn’t conform to much, almost exactly like the breeze. Hawthorne writes, “...[the breeze]...has its gusts of inexplicable passion, and is petulant in its best of moods, and chills oftener than caresses you...; in requital of which misdemeanours, it will sometimes, of its own vague purpose, kiss your cheek with a kind of doubtful tenderness, and play gently with your hair, and then begone about its other idle business, leaving a dreamy pleasure at your heart” (162). Prynne sees Pearl as being exactly that.

Read More
495 Words | 2 Pages

Pearl not only represents the sin itself, but the passion and fire that induced it. Pearl acts as a blessing, and a burden to her mother. She gives Hester strength when she is ready to give up. She also provides her mother with company, since they are both outcasts in society. Pearl has an abnormal amount of knowledge and sass for a young child, making her a complex, main character.

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

The fact that Pearl is a symbol with the one soul purpose of reminding her mother of her biggest mistake, Pearl can be seen as an antagonist to Hester. Although Pearl is the only character in the novel who is truly innocent, she is quite an annoyance to her mother. Pearl is a sort of antagonist-protagonist. Not exactly an anti-hero, but close enough. Her mother fears her at some points.

Read More
589 Words | 3 Pages

This automatically convinced the community to hold negative opinions about Pearl, and thus, established the contradiction between Pearl’s appearance and the reality. In her Puritan community, Pearl exhibits a symbol of sin. Her appearance and personality are not that of a typical Puritan child. Puritan children were characteristically polite and respectful, and Pearl displays the opposite.

Read More
705 Words | 3 Pages

Pearl is a symbol of the scarlet letter. She was born due to adultery, which is the same reason as to why Hester wears the scarlet letter A. In chapter 7, Pearl is coincidentally put into a red tunic, “...arraying her in a crimson velvet tunic … and flourishes of gold-thread” (Hawthorne 92), which makes Hester realize that she is the human version of the scarlet letter. By Hester realizing this, it shows to the reader that Pearl can be a “sin” and a “blessing” all at the same time.

Read More

More about Perverse Merriment In Scarlet Letter

Related Topics

Open Document