Scarlet Letter Pearl Alienation Quotes

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Hester sees Pearl as a breathing version of her scarlet letter. Although she is a reminder of Hester’s sin, Pearl is also a blessing. She represents the spirit of the sin that Hester committed. Her existence strengthens her mother to help her continue each day without giving up. Her name was specifically chosen to represent how she is her others only treasure. Hester now believes that Pearl was given to her as a means of comfort and that she is a creation of God’s mercy. As Hester is released from prison she continues to be alienated and functions as a living example of a fallen woman. She continues to support herself because of her great needlework talent, and although she’s an outcast, the townspeople acknowledge her talent enough to give her work. She gets a lot of customers for many different things but it is believed to be inappropriate for chaste brides to wear what she has made. 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 …show more content…

Much to the surprise of the townspeople, Pearl has become a comfort and vindication for Hester. Pearl has found fascination in the letter making it less of a penalty for Hester. She hasn’t been able to be understood by the townspeople because she is seen as a creature of heaven and therefore not understood by those who have impure motives. But Hester also sees Pearl as a burden of her past because without the pregnancy of Pearl her affair would never have been discovered and she would’ve remained as a part of the town instead of an outcast. She gave Hester a lot of grief because she had such an uncontrollable attitude, she was strong willed and crated many annoyances for her