Pearl Essay

In a surface examination of the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is quickly evident that no good things come from the wilderness. Therein, the wilderness is often associated with the savages and the devil. In his work The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne finds herself exiled by society for having an adulterous affair with the town reverend which brought forth the child known as Pearl. Pearl is quickly established as the child of the wilderness: wild, capricious, and thought by the town to be a demon-child. She represents several entities in the novel just by her being, but when her morality is delved into, much more of the nature of the story can be revealed. Pearl’s role is often overlooked as a formative force in the novel. Some scholars have gone as far as to denounce her as unnecessary to the story’s makeup. Upon close examination, it can be determined that Pearl is indeed a necessary element. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Pearl presents themes of morality, both personal and cultural, as well as the divide between society and nature, through her interactions with Hester, Reverend Dimmesdale, and the scarlet letter itself.

Nelson Mandela once said, “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.” In most cases, it is difficult to distinguish and fully understand when you have changed. Whether it be a trivial change in habit to a crucial character transformation, it is best to set oneself up against an untouched canvas, and begin to analyze the newfangled person from there. Throughout Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, the concept of identifying one’s changes is apparent in two of the main characters, Pearl and Dimmesdale. Both characters experience their own engenderment of maturity and personal growth, though Dimmesdale’s involvement with it is much more deleterious in comparison to Pearl’s.

Hester accounted for pearl’s character by “recalling what she herself had been, during that momentous period while pearl was imbibing her soul from the spiritual world, and her bodily frame from its material of earth.”

Hawthorne conveys his idea of adultery through Pearl. He connects the “sprite-like” child and the scarlet letter - adultery - to make them the same. Pearl was born from adultery, just like the letter. She is “the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life!” (92). Pearl is not a real child, but instead the living form of the letter; explaining her mystical tendencies and fascination with the Black Man. The novel is the life story of the Scarlet Letter and Pearl, for they are born and disappear at the same time. Hawthorne uses this breathing symbol of adultery to directly affect the other characters. He turns Pearl

Hester's daughter, Pearl, functions primarily as a symbol. She is quite young during most of the events of this novel—when Dimmesdale dies she is only seven years old—and her real importance lies in her ability to provoke the adult characters in the book. She asks them pointed questions and draws their attention, and the reader's, to the denied or overlooked truths of the adult world. In general, children in The Scarlet Letter are portrayed as more perceptive and more honest than adults, and Pearl is the most perceptive of them all.

Although everyone might think that Hester’s crimes have created a toll on Pearl ,Pearl still manages to stay strong for her and her mother. Pearl being the victim and being so young is able to take all the comments thrown towards her and just become stronger. She gives Hester hope to what is to come,to know that it all won’t be terrible.That as long as pearl is able to stay strong for her mother, than she

Despite being considered God’s punishment for Hester, Pearl was also a blessing in disguise. Her whimsical behavior enthralled people. She was the light in Hester’s sad world, and she was the reason Hester did not lose herself completely due to sorrow and isolation. Pearl’s acts of affection gave her mother hope. Her affection also pleased the minister even though he was

She is unwilling to give up her individuality and more focuses on being free and expressing it. Her rebellious nature reflects upon her drive and need to express herself without restraints. Her baby-like description depicts her as a little girl who will not listen to others and refuse to do certain activities. As a reward for her great individuality, Pearl has the amazing ability to make ”the sombre crowd cheerful by her erratic and glistening ray, even as a bird of bright plumage illuminates a whole tree of dusky foliage” (239). Her ability to change people’s minds allows her to gain access to them and lets them see her for who she truly is, not what society wants her to be like.

Although only a baby when first introduced to Pearl, the reader quickly picks up on the fact that she is a walking representation of Hester’s adultery. Without Hester’s sin she wouldn’t have been born, but because of the circumstances under which she was born, Pearl is considered an extremely unique child by the public. Being described as a dauntless, elfish, and full of malice when she is a younger child and all around is considered completely different than the normal children in the town (Hawthorne 81). However this may just be because of the lack of social interaction that Pearl has and the circumstances under which she was raised in. These circumstances begin to change as time goes on in the novel and as Hester is treated less harshly by society causing Pearl’s attitude to change.

But her parents sin negatively impacts her likewise. She has no choice in bearing the burden of being a scarlet letter herself; Pearl ostracizes and isolates herself from the other children. According to the novel, “Mother and daughter stood together in the same circle of seclusion…” (89). Pearl inherits the ignominy of her parents in society, but gladly avoids certain aspects of her shame through her youth. Running in the sunshine, Pearl observes, “I am but a child.

Taking away Pearl from Hester is the wrong thing to do, you say that Hester is not fit to take care of her, but as said in chapter 5 paragraph 2. Hester possesses a art that even in a land that afforded comparatively little scope for its exercise

Pearl: Pearl is the daughter of Hester and Dimmesdale. Pearl is a protagonist in the story, for she serves as a living reminder of Hester’s sin. She is a round and complex character, for she is intuitive, and she is also very dynamic. She is very observant, for when Hester asks why she wears the A, Pearl replies, “‘Truly do I… It is for the same reason that the minister keeps his hand over his heart!” (167). Pearl is also more of a symbol than a character, for she symbolizes many to different characters. To Hester, Pearl is a constant reminder of the sin she’s committed. To Dimmesdale, Pearl is his conscious, for when he tries to warm up to her, she denies him: “The minister… hoping that a kiss might prove a talisman to admit him into the child’s

Hester’s battle with herself can only be understood by taking a glimpse into her daily life with her beloved daughter, Pearl. Pearl is the physical manifestation of her sin, of the adultery that Hester committed with her secret lover; with every waking hour, Pearl is always alongside Hester, constantly reminding Hester of her transgression. Whenever Hester sees Pearl, she sees a young and energetic girl, who also possesses the same attributes that she loathes about herself, the difficult and wild side of herself that would never give up. Hawthorne writes that Pearl, “lacked reference and adaptation to the world into which she was born. [Pearl] could not be made amenable to rules” (Hawthorne

Pearl is Hester’s daughter, it’s easy to know or at least assume what her name means by how she’s described. Pearl is all Hester has now that she’s seen and treated as a sinner. Hester doesn’t seem to care about that, she only cares about Pearl. Pearl is her “...great price,-purchased with all she had- her mother’s only treasure!” (Hawthorne, 61). A pearl is a very precious and beautiful piece of jewelry, which is how Hester sees Pearl.

Hester’s daughter’s name, Pearl, is symbolic because the infant is “her mother’s only treasure” (74) and represents the good in Hester’s crime. As Hawthorne describes Pearl’s character, it’s pointed out that she “could not be made amenable to rules” (75). Furthermore, as the characterization continues, the reader may notice