One of the most significant writers of the romantic period in American literature was Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne wrote stories that opposed the ideas of Transcendentalism. Since he had ancestors of Puritan belief, Hawthorne wrote many stories about Puritan New England. His most famous story is the
Scarlet Letter. This novel tells of the punishment of a woman, Hester Prynne, who committed adultery and gave birth to Pearl. A minister of Boston, Arthur
Dimmesdale, had an affair with Hester while believing that her husband, Roger
Chillingworth, had died. However, Chillingworth did not die and appears during the early stages of Hester 's punishment.
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the character of Pearl in the
Scarlet Letter. Her
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Later, Hester receives word that the magistrates want to take Pearl away from her. Hester takes Pearl to the governor 's house where the child meets her father, Arthur Dimmesdale.
After Dimmesdale persuades the governors to allow Hester to keep Pearl, he gives the child a kiss on the forehead. This kiss hints that Dimmesdale is Pearl 's father. When Hester and Pearl return from Governor Winthrop 's death bed, they join
Dimmesdale standing on the town 's scaffold. Pearl asks Dimmesdale "Wilt thou stand here with mother and me, to-morrow noontide?" (Hawthorne 131) twice.
Realizing that Arthur is her father, Pearl wants him to confess his sin so that the three of them can live peacefully. Next, Hester takes Pearl for a walk in the woods to meet Dimmesdale. While the two lovers talk and come up with plans to leave for England, Pearl goes off and plays in the woods. After Hester and
Dimmesdale finish talking, Pearl returns and finds that her mother has removed the scarlet letter. Pearl, who has grown attached to the "A," throws a temper tantrum until Hester puts the letter back on her dress. Later, Dimmesdale kisses Pearl, who then runs to a brook and washes off the kiss. Pearl does not accept Dimmesdale as her father. At the end of the novel, Hester and Pearl go to England, but Hester returns and dies in Boston. Hawthorne never tells exactly what happened to Pearl. The people of Boston have many different ideas about Pearl 's fate. For example, some
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,
Dimmesdale. Ye have both been here before, but i was not with you. Come up, hither once again, and we will stand all three together!” She silently ascended the steps, and stood on the platform, holding little pearl by the hand. The minister felt for the child's other hand and took it “ (Hawthorne 143) From here they are starting to become closer and you notice the closeness that they have bythe way that they all stood together under the moon holding hands. Pearl feels liberated because even though it's night you are still able to see people around. It also implies that they are able to get through the struggles but does not affect them all that much because sooner than later Dimmesdale admits that he is the father of Pearl and Hester kisses Dimmesdale immediately “Partly supported by Hester Prynne, and holding one hand of little Pearl’s the Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale turned to dignified the venerable rulers; to the holy ministers, who were his brethren; to the people, whose great heart was thoroughly appalled yet overflowing with tearful sympathy” (Hawthorne 379) It’s able to explain how truthful he was to share out his family and how Pearl accepted to grab his hand in front of all the people. Since she’s been truthful the whole time she was blessed with good fortune after Dimmesdale had died. She met a man who she married and
After her horrible ordeal, and her release from prison, Hester and Pearl reside for the next few years in a hut by the sea. Hester tries to keep her distance from the Puritans. She does not want them to influence Pearl. Hester wants to raise Pearl, and find peace within herself. Pearl, however,
While Hester tries to protect Dimmesdale by not giving the name of Pearl's father, she actually condemns him to a long road of
When Chillingworth asks Hester the identity of her lover, she refuses to answer. Because of this, Chillingworth makes her promise never to reveal that he is her husband. After Hester is released from prison, she goes to live in a small cottage at the edge of town. After a few years, people begin to notice that her daughter, Pearl, behaves very strangely, and they threaten to take her away from Hester. Hester takes Pearl to Governor Bellingham's mansion planning to plead for the right to keep her daughter. At the mansion she is met by the governor and his three guests, Reverend Wilson, Reverend Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. Reverend Dimmesdale convinces the governor to allow Hester to keep Pearl. Chillingworth, who has been living with Reverend Dimmesdale since his arrival in town, begins to suspect that Reverend Dimmesdale is the father of Pearl. One evening while Dimmesdale is sleeping, Chillingworth examines Dimmesdale's chest and finds something which confirms his suspicion. From this moment on, Chillingworth devotes himself to seeking revenge. One night, Dimmesdale is so tormented by his conscience that he goes and stands on the scaffold that Hester had stood on seven years earlier. As he is standing there, he sees Hester and Pearl walk by and he calls them onto the scaffold with him. After he acknowledges his guilt to them, a giant red A
The third reason Ms. Prynne and Rev. Dimmesdale should have fled New England is that it gave the duo the opportunity for a second chance. A new life was definitely in order, if this chance were taken they could gain a new life. In this new life Rev. Dimmesdale could wed Hester an act which he certainly desired but was unable to do in New England. And finally he could hold Pearl’s
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
Dimmesdale will not even be seen in public with Hester and Pearl. He wants to be able to be with his daughter and the love of his life but then people would know that he committed adultery with Hester. Pearl asks, “Wilt thou stand here with Mother and me, tomorrow noontide?” to only hear, “Not so, my child.” from Dimmesdale in return (Hawthorne page 144). Dimmesdale not being able to be with whom he loves is is a struggle.
Abandoning Hester and her illegitimate daughter Pearl also augmented his problems. Forcing Hester to go and find work around town, an obviously hard task for a single parent. He also abandons them emotionally and physically. He is rarely there when Hester and Pearl needed him. Innocent little Pearl wonders why Dimmesdale is so afraid of public displays of affection, yet when they are alone, he takes notice of her and Hester. Talking to him, Pearl asks "Wilt thou stand here with Mother and me, tomorrow noontide? (149),” a question whose answer is unclear for Pearl. In fact, the only way Hester and Pearl receive any kind of support from Dimmesdale is when Hester threatens to tell the truth about his sins.
She touches the scarlet letter, but little does she know that she is the reason for the punishment. They are social outcasts, so they don’t leave their house much. Pearl plays alone and has best friends that are imaginary. She distrusts her own imaginary friends for the same reason that she distrusts all the Puritans in the colony. People treat Hester and Pearl differently than everyone else is treated. She only loves Hester, because Hester spends time with her and is a good mother. She plays with her and teaches her Bible stories. Pearl knows the whole catechism at the age of three, but refuses to say it to anyone. She is smarter than everyone thinks she is. Chillingworth speaks to Pearl about the scarlet letter. He asked her if she knew the reason why her mother must wear the scarlet letter all the time. She replies, “Yes, that is the same reason why the preacher holds his hand over his heart.” Pearl asks her mom all the time the reason why she wears the scarlet letter and why the preacher holds his hand over his heart. She knows that they both do, but she doesn’t know why. Hester tells her that she wears it because of the pretty gold thread, but she doesn’t know the minister’s reason. Later in the story, Dimmesdale, Hester, and Pearl meet in the forest, and Hester rips the scarlet letter off. Pearl gets mad then, because she knows that her mother is supposed to wear it. Dimmesdale kisses Pearl, but she washes the kiss off with
Hester states that “She (Pearl) is a splendid child” (185)!2. What has Hester done to become estranged to Pearl? She took off
The townspeople, in shock, sympathize Hester because the unknown adulterer exposes his secret. As Dimmesdale finishes his last words to his true love, he dies in Hester’s arms. Watching Hester lose the love of her life and Pearl lose her father allows others to sympathize them because once again they are left to fend for themselves. The shared feeling between the Puritan town
The sunshine remains present for Pearl because she is not tainted with any form of sin and guilt unlike Hester and Reverend Dimmesdale, the sunshine continues to stay absent. Throughout the 15th chapter, Pearl picks various types of seaweed to make a mantle and a head dress. As she gathers the seaweed, she does her best to imitate the letter A and places it upon her chest. Similar to her mother’s scarlet letter. Pearl responds to her mother’s call and they walk.
Pearl is a blessing, comfort, and sunshine. Her name “Pearl” is fitting because of what she means to Hester. While at Governor Bellingham’s house, Hester claims that Pearl is her only reason for living in her argument to keep custody of Pearl. Pearl saves Hester’s soul from Satan. After receiving the word that Hester may keep her cherished Pearl, Mistress Hibbins requests that Hester join her at the witches gathering in the forest. Hester immediately denies the invitation, saying if she had lost
After being found guilty of adultery, Hester is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her clothing as a public sign of shame. Her long lost husband, now under a new name to remain unknown, reappears after being presumed lost at sea. With revenge on his mind, a drama explodes around Hester. Over many years, her lover Dimmesdale falls ill and the new town physician Chillingsworth spends many hours by his bedside, only to start believing that Arthur is the father of Pearl, Hester’s out-of-wedlock child. When pleading with Dimmesdale, Hester begs him to leave for Europe so that they can start a new life together. This plan fails when Hester discovers that Chillingsworth is also to be a passenger. Eventually, Dimmesdale dies in Hester’s arms, and losing an opportunity at revenge, Chillingsworth dies shortly after. With a large amount of money left to her, Pearl and her mother relocate to Europe to start a new life (Hawthorne).