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Sex And Adultery In The Scarlet Letter

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Sex and adultery created conflict in a Puritan society. Pearl is the symbolic character, created by Hawthorne, as a product of an adulterous affair that challenges these moral beliefs in the Puritan Society. Pearl’s personality shows the struggles that surround her due to the unforgivable sin that Hester Prynne and the unnamed father (Dimmesdale) committed. Pearl’s journey in The Scarlet Letter from infancy on “the pedestal of shame” to her influence for Dimmesdale’s salvation at his death allows her to grow up “amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a women in it.” ( Hawthorne 197). Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author, uses Pearl’s character to create a powerful message throughout The Scarlet Letter to symbolize …show more content…

When Pearl is three months old, she is revealed to the crowd on the pedestal of shame. Her mother wore a red letter “A” made out of fine red cloth with elaborate embroidery of gold thread surrounding the letter that was placed on her bosom. Hawthorne states, “it had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and in closing her in a sphere by herself.” (40) When Hester holds Pearl in her arms, she places her upon her bosom opposite the scarlet letter in attempts to dissociate Pearl from her sin. As an infant, Pearl forms an early awareness of the scarlet letter. Pearl has not committed the sin, but the letter “A” will also cast a spell upon Pearl which will impact her personality throughout the Scarlet …show more content…

Pearl feels her mother’s shame and in order for Dimmesdale to achieve salvation he must publicly confess. Dimmesdale finally announces his sin of adultery at the Election Day Procession on the scaffolding. As Dimmesdale was dying, Pearl leans in for a kiss on his lips. Hawthorne states “A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all of her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father’s cheeks, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it.” (197). Pearl finally feels dissociated from the letter “A”, puritan rule, and her mother’s sin giving her freedom to pursue her own friendships, love, and religion.
Pearl, Hawthorne’s symbol of the affair, challenges the Puritan belief system throughout the book The Scarlet Letter. While Pearl acts primarily as a symbol of her mother’s shame throughout The Scarlet Letter, by the end of the book she is allowed to become free from shame and isolation. This freedom comes when Dimmesdale publicly confesses and releases her from the imprisonment of the spell. Pearl’s spell was broken and her soul has been set free from Puritanic Rule just like in today’s world where people are set free from sin as a Christian knowing Jesus Christ is our

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In his novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses rhetorical devices such as imagery, symbolism, and foreshadowing. Foreshadowing, is used to reveal Pearl’s father to the reader. Hawthorne reveals that Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale is Pearl’s father, through Dimmesdale’s relationships with the other characters as well as his words and deeds. Throughout the novel, it is clear to the reader that Pearl and Dimmesdale have a unique relationship. As Dimmesdale, on behalf of the other ministers, attempts to convince Hester to reveal who Pearl’s father is, he gives a moving speech that impacts all his listeners: “even the poor baby, at Hester’s bosom, was affected by the same influence; for it directed its hitherto vacant gaze towards Mr. Dimmesdale,

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Hester went to plead that the officials of the town leave Pearl in her care and not take her away to be raised by any one else. When it seems that Hester is losing this battle she asks Dimmesdale to speak in her defense which he does quite passionately. This desire to protect the mother and daughter bond of Hester and Pearl is what seems to draw Pearl to approach Dimmesdale and take “his hand in the grasp of both her own…” and lay “her cheek against it; a caress so tender…” (The Scarlet Letter, Chapter VIII) Dimmesdale’s defense and Pearl’s reaction are two cues that lead the reader to begin seeing the truth of who Pearl’s father

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“On the breast of her gown, in fine red cloth, surrounded with an elaborate embroidery and fantastic flourishes of gold-thread, appeared the letter A” (Hawthorne 50). The novel states this description of Prynne’s scarlet letter and how she has to put it on her gown, noticeable for everyone to see. Prynne is inwardly questioning herself whose child is Pearl “...child, what are thou? Cried the mother. Oh, I am your little Pearl… Art thou my child, in very truth?...

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Pearl acts as conscience and the guiltiness that the cowardly Dimmesdale presented throughout the story and even bigger allegorically when you take this into account. Dimmesdale finally confesses to the townspeople, himself, and probably in his mind God. He takes into consideration his “family” and he confesses for the better of him and his family. The confession, although, is going to improve more than his own inner self. Almost like as Dimmesdale stared into the face of God, his sins were

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This was the first part in the book when Dimmesdale went on the scaffold with Hester and Pearl. When all three of them were on the scaffold Pearl was described as “Pearl she a symbol, and the connecting link between the two”(139). When they were on the scaffold pearl connected Hester and Dimmesdale. As soon as Pearl held hands with both of them she felt as if she was no longer a product of sin because of Hester and Dimemsdasles actions. When the townspeople saw this they thought that Pearl was a magical human that brought together two people in a tough time.

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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).

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Hester dislikes the fact that the “scarlet letter” may be perceived as a sign of weakness, and instead learns to be empowered by the “A”. Ultimately, Hester actively made a positive impact on the community and proceeds to raise pearl, her child, without any assistance from Roger or Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester exemplifies her independence through her ability to maintain financial stability while raising her daughter and working. Hester eventually morphs the public's view of the scarlet letter into something positive. The narrator says, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification.

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Pearl has also made a connection between Hester’s scarlet letter, Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. It shocks Hester that Pearl has caught on so much and even starts wondering whether or not she should tell Pearl about the scarlet letter when Pearl asks about it on the beach. Hester chose to wait a little while longer because it would be “the price of the child’s sympathy” (188). She is not ready to take away Pearl’s childhood and innocence. Even though Pearl is coming of age where she could be told about her mother’s sin, she is still not

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In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is a very important character and she symbolizes a lot. Pearl is also very smart. She figures out before many of the adults in the town, that Dimmesdale is her father. Pearl also has a big imagination. She when she plays alone, she can turn anything as simple as a stick or a rock into something aminated, and something she play with.

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The flowers appeared to know it"(194) Pearl fit in with natural things. Also, Pearl is always happy, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans because they probably believe she should be miserable. The council tests Pearl to see if Hester is teaching her correctly and Pearl acts smart to make them think her mother isn’t like it’s a joke. Pearl can be seen as the living embodiment of the scarlet letter. She is not only the proof of adultery but also the way her mother dresses her shows that Hester is not ashamed of her daughter.

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This child is not meant to be a realistic character but rather a symbol of Hester’s sin, blessing and scarlet letter. Pearl is the scarlet letter, a blessing and curse, and the love and passion of a dangerous relationship. More than a child Pearl is a symbol of the love and passion between Hester and the minister. Pearl is a symbol that connect her parents forever even if they couldn’t be together. The narrator says, “God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonoured bosom, to connect her parent forever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven!”(86)

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In The Scarlet Letter is merely a symbol in the story, her function is to remind Hester of her sin which affects her role in the story to become more antagonistic to Hester. Pearl is a character, yes, but in the novel, she is mostly a symbol. The way Hawthorne writes her, she is not like a regular person, and she 's not

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And what is the reaction of Hester Prynne? Will she forgive herself? With expected, she won’t since the alive letter around her – litter Pearl, who is sometimes a angel and sometimes a evil, whose and also, she was uninhabited and capricious: She was a live scarlet letter. However, she could puncture a fallacy with one remark.

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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.

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