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The Punishment Of Pearl In The Scarlett Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The Puritan society took breaking laws very serious and made the punishment very harsh. In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the Puritan society did not take breaking laws easily and would publicly shame the sinners, and with Hester already having to deal with the shame from the Puritan people, she now had to deal with Pearl who is a constant reminder of her sin. Hester is most impacted by Pearl because Pearl reminds her daily of her sin, Pearl misbehaves a lot and causes trouble, and Pearl makes Hester keep the letter on because she doesn’t like it when she takes it off. Pearl has a much bigger impact on Hester than the scarlet letter because she reminds Hester daily of her sin. Hester had felt like God had sent Pearl down as a result of her sin and “place on that same dishonored bosom”(Hawthorne). Hester is always reminded of what she has done whenever she sees Pearl. While the scarlet letter is always with her, Pearl is the result of the crime Hester committed and has a bigger impact. Pearl also sometimes makes it …show more content…

She thought that everything she did was in the act of the devil. Even when Pearl would do small things like laugh, it would make Hester “more doubtful then before” that Pearl wasn’t sent by god just to be a punishment (Hawthorne). Pearl misbehaves so much that Hester believes God had sent her as a punishment for her sins. Pearl misbehaving so much has a major impact on Hester. It also doesn’t help that Pearl makes Hester keep the scarlet letter on. She makes Hester keep it on because “she’s upset because my (Hester) appearance has changed”(Lee, Chan and King 239). Pearl demands Hester to “pick it up!” and won’t go back to her unless she does so (Lee, Chan ang King 240) . Pearl forces Hester to keep the letter on because she does not see her the same. Even when Hester wants to take the letter off, Pearl has her make the choice to keep it on. Some people might say otherwise

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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

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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.

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