Hester Prynne has been given the scarlet “A” to show to all that she has committed a terrible sin, and has broken the sacred promise she made to her husband. However, instead of finding humility and sorrow from it, she takes pride in the letter. What is she trying to say? That adultery is acceptable? Hester’s punishment should be more labored and reflect upon her sins, and Pearl should be taken and monitored.
Since Hester is still recently condemned, it would be for the best if Pearl were to be taken away from her mother for a short time. Ms. Prynne must have time to herself to reflect and meditate, to figure out what’s wrong and what’s right. Pearl is a wonderful child, “God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on that same dishonored bosom, to connect her parent for ever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in Heaven!” (Hawthorne 133) Hester knows that Pearl is a gift, however, she is
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It is clear that the child is gifted, and it is amazing that this is true since she is the result of a her mother’s dishonor. However, the child is troubled, and has gained her mother’s passion from the womb, and she has to be disciplined. The task is possible, but Hester herself, the one who birthed this child, even she cannot raise the child, she has tried: “…she early sought to impose a tender, but strict, control over the infant immortality that was committed to her charge. But the task was beyond her skill. After testing both smiles and frowns, and proving that neither mode of treatment possessed any calculable influence, Hester was ultimately compelled to stand aside, and permit the child to be swayed by her own impulses.” (Hawthorne 137) The child has to learn that it is not adequate to move about life by her own “impulses”, as such impulses can lead to further