Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter

The children In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter play a major role in the Puritan society. With their honest opinions of Hester and Pearl, the children are presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults. Due to their innocence, children are capable of expressing themselves without constraints; there are no laws or regulations that they are bounded by. As an adolescent go through the stages of life and grow older, they begin to be more conscious of the how they act as they are more aware of society and the things that are occurring in the world, creating a filter for their actions. When they remain as the children, on the other hand, are adventurous; they are still exploring the universe that seems to fill with mysteries that are bound to be solved. They tend to attach to the truth and they are not afraid to speak it freely. Children differ from adults in their potential for expressing these perceptions. With their obliviousness to the things that are actually going on around the town, children therefore react differently compared to the adults, who are more knowledgeable. Perceived to be immature, young children are presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults due to their innocence, how they are unaware of the reality and the crimes that are presented in society by the adults enables them to be blithe and not afraid of saying what they feel like. Due to their naivety, when they express what they perceive to be true, they do not get punished,

““There was witchcraft in little Pearl’s eyes, and her face, as she glanced upward at the minister, wore that naughty smile which made its expression frequently so elvish.” (Hawthorne 145) This, is a misleading description that Nathaniel Hawthorne depicts of Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne, in his classic novel The Scarlet Letter. Pearl is the living product of sin for her mother. Born out of wedlock, Pearl is a unique child that tends to be very moody and unpredictable. However, Pearl, at such a young age, demonstrates outstanding knowledge and exhibits curiosity to her mother’s scarlet letter, and the hypocrisy of Puritan society. Although Pearl portrays devilish characteristics and performs mischievous behaviour, she

Hester Prynne, Pearl, the townspeople, and Nathaniel Hawthorne each have different views of the “Scarlet Letter” that change throughout the story. Hester begins to feel proud of her letter but then soon humbles herself when she wears it and ends up feeling the guilt of her sin towards the conclusion of the story. The letter for Hester begins to shape her life along with pearl for it is an everyday thing for her. Pearl, as a young child, is aware of her mother’s letter but doesn’t fully understand its meaning. Pearl later on begins to only see and recognize her mother with the letter on. The townspeople, in the beginning of the story, hate Hester and her letter believing her punishment should have been more harsh, but later on they find a new meaning for it. Nathaniel Hawthorne varies with his opinions and view of the letter just as each character does. Each view represents a different side to the story.

Hester would sacrifice everything she had for Hester. The importance of Pearl to Hester is expressed when the narrator says “But she named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price, ---purchased with all she had, --- her mother’s only treasure!” (Hawthorne 82). Hester more importantly wanted to teach Pearl what she learned in her sin. Pearl was the result of her tremendous sin and she saw the beauty in the baby being born while everyone else looked at Pearl as if she were a devil child. Pearl is a representation of the constant guilt and shame that Hester has to continuously live with. This guilt was expressed through public shame and the fact that the first thing that Hester saw when she was born was her mother's Scarlet letter and she would constantly be distracted by the letter and it reminded Hester of the way everybody saw her. Her willingness to do anything for Pearl leads to her giving into her childish demands. Pearl, being born out of her mother’s sin, does not want the scarlet letter to leave her mother. This is expressed in, “The child will not let her mother cast the scarlet letter aside because Pearl herself is emblem of a passion which partook of that same heathen, natural wilderness. ("Hester's Double Providence: The Scarlet Letter and the Green”), which shows how Pearl wants all three of them to stand on the scaffold. Pearl was much focused on the

Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Pearl serves as a punishment to Dimmesdale and Hester for their adultery. She is described as an “elf-child” with an “impish grin”, demonstrating her wild and devious nature. In “Mirror Imagery in The Scarlet Letter”, Michael L. Lasser states that Hester thinks Pearl “must be disordered and even essentially evil” (274). Pearl’s mischievous

Pearl is the physical and living embodiment of the sin committed by Hester and Dimmesdale. The name “Pearl” seems almost as a misnomer due to the sinful and shameful roots of the child. Similar to Jesus’ parable in the Bible in which a pearl is bought at a “great price,” to Hester, her child represents all that she had to give. The narrator even goes on to characterize her as “the living hieroglyphic” (page 188) of a broken law. Pearl’s existence as a living symbol of the scarlet letter persistently torments Hester and Dimmesdale throughout the novel, but in the end, Pearl’s rumored happiness as a mother in Europe encapsulates the final triumph of love over a forsaken beginning.

Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne's daughter, Pearl, is portrayed to have a very specific view of her mother and the scarlet symbol which she wears on all of her clothing. Since she herself is often considered a living representation of the letter, her view of it is important in the novel. Pearl is astonishingly perceptive; sometimes so much so that it surprises even Hester. Through this perceptive nature, Pearl develops her own views of the scarlet letter and her mother in relation to it.

The Scarlet Letter, is most often referred to as Nathaniel Hawthorne’s best work. It gives a detailed image of life in a Puritan society. The heroine of the book-Hester Prynne, defies power, and rebels against colonial rule. Laws composed of religious convictions and individual beliefs. Through Hester’s action, you can depict a feminist consciousness. She differs from traditional colonial woman who 's sole purpose it to be obedient, despite the unfair rules carried out by puritan men. Hester represents a new female image centering on her own religious spirit, self reliance, and strong mind. Hester represents the pure meaning of feminism, which here, has a positive meaning. She encourages todays women to fight for gender equality.

Nathanial Hawthorne was born July 4, 1804. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His family name was Hathorne. He wanted his name to be different, so he added a “w”

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter shows the early view of Puritanism by concentrating on sin, guilt, and its effects on society. Nathaniel Hawthorne conveyed a dark and romantic style of writing in “The Scarlet Letter”, impacting the society by focusing on the concepts of romanticism. The Scarlet Letter is considered a classic book and is still read today.

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story of immorality, guilt, and vengeance. Hester Prynne, once an ordinary woman living in a New England colony, becomes branded as an adulteress when she is discovered to be pregnant. She is involuntarily forced into prison and after her release, is required to wear the scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life, eternally being defined and perceived as an adulteress. The product of Hester and Dimmesdale, her clandestine lover and partner in the deed, is their daughter Pearl. Hester’s life is now forever different, because of her obligation to wear the “A” and her daughter Pearl. Both Pearl and the letter are direct effects of her sin and are symbols that represent elements of Hester’s life

The historical fiction novel The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, explores the themes of sin, guilt, and punishment. The protagonist, Hester Prynne, commits adultery, and faces the backlash from her Puritan community throughout the novel. Also enduring this hardship is Pearl, the daughter of Hester and the child of the illicit affair. The community despises Pearl, and sees her as the embodiment of evil itself. Although public shaming can cause one to be self-assured, The Scarlet Letter shows how constant punishment for another’s crime can have negative effects. For example, the stigma around Pearl prevents her from making any friends, which leads to her distrust of humans. Also, Pearl’s reputation pulls her out of her childhood, forcing her to mature faster. Furthermore, Pearl’s misplaced mistreatment changes the way she views herself.

One of the most complex and elaborate characters in The Scarlet Letter is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol- one who is constantly changing. Pearl is involved in a complex history, and as a result is viewed as different and is shunned because of her mother’s sin. Pearl is a living Scarlet A to Hester, as well as the reader, acting as a constant reminder of Hester’s sin.Hawthorne uses vivid descriptions to characterize Pearl. She is first described as the infant; “…whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty

“It is good for this poor, sinful woman that she hath an infant immortality…confined to her care… to remind her… of her fall… but yet to teach her, as it were by the Creator’s sacred pledge, that, if she bring the child to heaven, the child will also bring its parent hither!” (Hawthorne 105). The plot of The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, revolves around a woman named Hester, who, in 17th Century Puritan America, sins, and, as a result, is left with a child named Pearl, which the previous quote talks about. Pearl is viewed as both good and bad by the reader and the author. In this way, Pearl represents both light and dark attributes, as do many of the characters of this novel, and she helps to bring out those attributes in each individual. Light and dark imagery, alluding to the larger conflict between good and bad, is present throughout the novel in the characters of Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale.

Throughout the story, Pearl acts both as the conscience of Hester, and the representation of wild innocence yet unmarred by sin and guilt; it is this dual nature that makes Pearl the most influential and important character in The Scarlet Letter, a classic novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The theme of the story is the same as Numbers 32:23 (“...be sure your sin will find you out”) and Galatians 6:7 (“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap...”), being that sin will always be discovered and that sin has consequences. Her discovery as the illegitimate child of Hester is what begins the story.