Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter describes the life of Hester Prynne after she is convicted of adultery, and the ensuing scorn and ostracism she receives from the Puritan society she lives in. If the focus of the novel is Hester’s struggle against a suppressive society, why did Hawthorne include the addition of Hester’s illegitimate daughter, Pearl? The Scarlet Letter is a novel full of symbolism, but none is more significant than Pearl. Throughout the story, Pearl serves as a constant reminder of Hester’s passionate nature, her adulterous act, and Dimmesdale’s inner turmoil. Hester realizes this herself from the beginning. Hester recognizes what Pearl represents from one of the first scenes in the novel. As Hester stands on the scaffold for the first time to receive her punishment, she resists the impulse to hold three-month-old Pearl in front of the newly received scarlet letter discerning that “one token of her shame would but poorly serve to hide another.” Later, as Pearl grows into wild and uncontrollable child, Hester again understands the …show more content…
Pearl instinctively reaches for the scarlet “A” for comfort in her infant years, and it is one of the first things Pearl is aware of. She refuses to recognize her mother when Hester removes the letter and her cap in the forest and “bursts into a fit of passion” until Hester replaces them. Even Pearl’s physical appearance is practically identical to the embroidered scarlet letter. Hester dresses her in outfits of red and gold and embroiders them “with fancies and flourishes of gold thread.” Such attire was strongly condemned by Puritan society, yet Hester dresses her the same even when she must plead with the governor to retain custody of Pearl. She allows “the gorgeous tendencies of her imagination full play.” In this way, Pearl as much represents Hester’s conflict with society as she represents Dimmesdale’s turmoil with