Pearl Hart: A Female Outlaw

She was such a curious little girl from a very young age, and such a curiosity and boldness towards life was seen as “masculine” and very strange during this time. Her odd personality and strange ways led her to be a bit of an outcast. Fascinated with her mother’s bright red embroidered “A” upon her chest always vexed the young girl. That was the only way she knew her mother, yet she had no concept of what the letter stood for or why only her mother wore one. Her obsession with the letter worried Hester, further peaking Pearl’s curiosity. Many viewed her to be a devil child, and somewhat reasonably so, even her mother began to believe so. Pearl was so curious as to who her father was, yet she somehow always knew that is was Dimmesdale, though her childlike way of understanding kept her wondering why he never would acknowledge her as

At the first of Pearl’s role in the story, it appears as though someone so grounded in her beliefs, spiritual and mental, would never be dynamic in

From her initial introduction to the reader as the “yonder babe, (…) of some three or four months old”, Pearl represents the beauty of the truth (54). As she struggles to find answers about her mother’s scarlet A while simultaneously growing up, Pearl identifies as an innocent character, despite her creation. It is frequently noted that she looks similar to the scarlet letter that her mother so reluctantly bears, with her “bright complexion [and] eyes possessing intensity both of depth and glow, and hair already of a deep, glossy brown” (76). Her similar appearance to the scarlet letter furthers her permanent connection to the letter. Additionally, it highlights the notion that her mother will likely never be able to look at her without reminiscing upon her sin. As Pearl develops, her fire-like actions and dark appearance further molds her into the fleshly expression of Hester’s adultery. Furthermore, Hawthorne ensures to characterize Pearl throughout the novel as a friend to the sunlight, a friend to the truth. As she begins to pick determine that Dimmesdale is her father, the sunlight welcomes her. This is because she is the only innocent character who is not afraid to step into the sun’s rays. Pearl recognizes the light’s love for her and audibly notes, “the

Did you ever want to be a superior wild west bandit, robbing banks, shooting up bars, many other crimes to commit? Pearl Hart, born Taylor, was a Canadian-born outlaw of the Wild west of America. She committed one of the last recorded stagecoach robberies in the United States. Pearl Hart was born In November 14, 1876 in Lindsay, California. At the age of 17, Pearl Hart became a gambler. During this job she grew in wealth and she had a good education. Pearl finds abusing her husband pleasurable, not only does she abuses her husband, she even gave birth two children that Pearl did not care about.

She expressed that he was emotionally abusive, and would ignore her the majority of the time. She specified that shortly after being married, she and her new husband set off to America (specifically Boston). She disclosed that she made it to America, but that her husband did not. She expressed that after a few months she came to the conclusion that her husband was dead. Shortly after, she meets a Reverend named Arthur Dimmesdale. She portrayed him as being intellectual, aloof, and unsympathetic towards individuals who were considered ordinary. She reported that this relationship was dysfunctional like the other relationship, but that she was drawn to his intellect. She disclosed that they had a child together, and named her pearl (SparkNotes Editors, 2003).

Pearl’s existence reminds Hester of her act of passion, which the cultural morality of Boston dictates as sinful. This is evident not only because Pearl is the product of Dimmesdale and Hester’s action, but because of who Pearl is at heart. Pearl’s personality is as stated,

One of Pearl’s many trials is the torment from her peers and elders simply for being the daughter of an adulteress, which she was completely out of control of. Peers bullying her is not uncommon throughout the story, “the little Puritans… scorned them [Pearl] in their hearts, and not infrequently reviled them with their tongues”(Hawthorne, 109). Their lack of respect towards her, and willingness to act upon those feelings puts Pearl in constant danger of harassment and shame from every child around her. However, peer harassment is not the only danger Pearl has to worry about, adults are quick to shame her as well, “the talk of neighboring townspeople… had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring” (Hawthorne, 114). While it’s not uncommon for someone to be bullied by a peer, the degradation forced on her by adults was something Pearl had to deal with everyday, on top of her peers. Interactions that should have been benign and helped her feel normal only tore her down.

In the beginning Pearl is living with her mother, father, thirteen year old sister Lexie, and Bitey the cat in New York City. Pearl was entering fifth

When Pearl is throwing flowers at Hester’s chest, trying to hit her “A,” Hester is reminded of her distressing past. Even though Pearl is a reminder of her past sin, Hester is unable to think of a life without her, even when her fellow townspeople are trying to take Pearl away from her. For Pearl separating from her mother would be strenuous, for Hester is the only thing she has ever known. To Pearl, Hester is more than her mother, she is her role model and icon. With such a powerful female figure, Pearl is set on claiming a strong male mentor to be her fatherly

Pearl, the leading child in the novel, is an excellent example of childish innocence combined with almost preternatural perception. Her willpower and imagination make her a blessing and a curse to her mother, who

Pearl started the novel as an outcome from a sinful action . Hester had kept Pearl by her side throughout Hester’s whole life. Pearl was the only reason that Hester decided to keep living in Boston to keep Pearl somewhat close to her father. It seems though that Pearl had truly inherited some of Hester's traits. Pearl was known for being a beautiful,

It was an unspoken rule that any man whose wife lived with him on the frontier was considered rude if he declined to bring her to social functions so she could dance with the other men. (Jan Mackell Collins from her article in True West magazine, “Soiled Doves.”)

However, Pearl is not only individual at fault for the numerous troubles of her children’s lives. One must not forget about

From Pearl 's point of view, the abandonment of her husband makes her weak if she announces it which is shown from when she states, "it was unthinkable to cry in front of the children. Or in front of anyone. Oh, she had her pride! She was not a

Pearl S. Buck was born in West Virginia in June 26, 1892, but she also only lived there 3 months. She moved to China for quite a long while, because of her parents being Christian Missionaries. Being raised in China gave her the gift of mixed tongue ( speaking two languages).