Pearl's Fate In The Scarlet Letter

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

Arthur Dimmesdale can be identified as the priest of a small town in Boston Massachusetts. The townspeople admire Dimmesdale and think of him as one of the purest members of their small puritan community. Contradicting these assumptions made by the Puritans, Dimmesdale commits sexual acts with a woman named Hester Prynne. To others, they committed adultery because even though Hester’s husband has disappeared, they still classify as married because they never filed a divorce, therefore a married woman. As he did this, he became prey to the moral consequences that followed. Pearl, or

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

The purpose of this passage serves to express the changes in Pearl such as her potential lost of ignorance, while also portraying her significance in the story as a representation of nature. A comparison between Pearl and the word "wilt" is made several times throughout the passage. This possible representation of Pearl as a flower has many different implication. One of which being a reflection of her mother. While Dimmesdale has gained Hester's appreciation, Pearl has not given her consent. That is to say, the wilting of the flower is associated with the death of her youth and her transcendence into a more mature women capaible of acceptering Dimmesdale as her father. Furthermore, the wilting of Pearl can also represent her knowledge on the situation, as nature is indifferent, the death of the flower suggest that Pearl is no longer a presentation of nature but her own self being. Pearl is now able to understand the complexity of the issue and forgives Dimmesdale through a

“Imagination is the key ingredient to overcoming fear and doubt.” Throughout “The Scarlet Letter”, Nathaniel Hawthorne tends to emphasize the intensity of Pearl’s imagination by describing the way Pearl saw the world around her and by talking about the way the people who noticed her vivid imagination, referred to her as a “witch-child”. In “The Scarlet Letter”, Pearl grows up secluded from the rest of the children in the New World. She learns to entertain herself and keep herself company by using her imagination. This is one big example of Pearl overcoming the hardships that she grew up with. As the book progresses, and as Pearl gets older, we see her overcome more hardships she is challenged with to create a strong, independent young girl. The poem provided written by Emily Dickinson comes to show how overcoming Pearl’s hardships led her to blossom from a strong, independent young girl, into an even stronger, successful woman.

As Pearl grows up and the novel goes on, there is more and more evidence that Pearl may just be as evil as everyone thought to begin with. While Pearl is playing in the flowers one afternoon, she begins to throw flowers at the scarlet letter on her mother's’ chest. “When Pearl was finally out of ammunition, she stood still and gazed at Hester. That little laughing image of a demon peeped out from the deep abyss of Pearl’s black eyes” (page 79). Pearl is frequently compared to demons or sometimes even the devil

Pearl is the constant reminder of Hester’s sin; however, Pearl also brings Hester extraordinary joy. She is the cause of Hester’s determination to try and create a better life for Pearl and herself. Pearl was also a boundless joy to her biological father, Revered Dimmesdale, in one scene, Pearl grabbed Dimmesdale by the hand and kissed it. This shocked Hester because this was one of the only times that Pearl showed affection to anyone, which brought immense joy to Dimmesdale (Lorcher, Trent). Dimmesdale is known to have committed the same crime as Hester when he clutches his chest constantly and is seen having the marking or the scarlet “A” engraved on his chest. Reverend Dimmesdale’s sin is more permanently proclaimed than Hester’s that is sewn on to her clothes, while his is a tattoo burned on his skin (Analysis: The Red Mark on Dimmesdale’s Chest). It is seen like an outward representation of the sin that is inside him that he is not fully open with (Lorcher, Trent). Pearl is always talking about the “Black Man” and she is referring to Satan and how Dimmesdale wrote his name in the Black Man’s book (Analysis: The Black Man). Hester’s husband, Roger Chillingworth is a symbol of evil and a sort of revenge for Hester (Lorcher, Trent). When Dimmesdale, Pearl and Hester meet on the scaffold one night a meteor streaks across the sky in the shape of a letter “A” and it seems to mean that God has

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

Hawthorne uses allusion throughout the novel to describe the symbolism in various different objects. He writes, “But did your reverence hear of the portent that was seen last night?-a great red letter in the sky-the letter ‘A’ which we interpret to stand for ‘Angel’”. (Hawthorne 135). This is allusion because it is referring to an angel. The A in the sky though is interpreted in many different ways.

Pearl provides comfort and love to her mother and others around her; more so, she helps them through tough times or gives them a few words of wisdom. Therefore, even though Pearl resulted from a sin, according to the Puritans, that does not prevent her from granting happiness to the ones she loves by persuading Hester to rid of her sorrows and steering Dimmesdale towards his fatherly title.

Pearl is a rose to her mother. She is beautiful, just like the flower, but a painful reminder of how she came to be, just like the thorns. Dr. Chillingworth treats Dimmesdale for his illness. Chillingworth returns with some herbs for Dimmesdale. The symbolism is almost literal.

“The way you see people is the way you treat them, and the way you treat them is what they become” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe). When the community sees a person differently from others, it can affect his personalities and turn him to become the one who they expect to be. However, they do not seem to realize that they also have responsibilities for what happens. They attribute all faults to that person because they think he is born with that and he has to live in that way. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne creates the same controversy about Pearl’s identity which comes from her instinct or the transformation that people bring to her.

Unbeknownst to the community of Boston, their favorite minister was actually Pearl’s father. Reverend Dimmesdale was a young and charismatic preacher who in the very beginning of the story asks Hester to reveal who Pearl’s real father is to the whole community. She refuses to give up the secret. From the beginning of the novel it is clear that Dimmesdale feels guilty for also being a part of Pearl’s creation and Hester’s punishment when he says, “I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow-sufferer!” He clearly believes that the sin of adultery should be shared by the participants, but for a variety of reasons he does not come clean and instead internalizes his shame. Ironically Dimmesdale becomes an even better pastor as his guilt and shame deepens, his sermons are increasingly popular with his congregation. He openly proclaims to them that he is a sinner and that he has lied to them, but instead of being shocked they consider his proclamation of guilt to be an exaggeration for the sake of his sermon.

        Pearl primarily serves the role of silently urging Dimmesdale to overcome the pressures to conform to society, and to allow his guilty inner-self to emerge and receive retribution for his sins. She exists as a constant and living reminder and product of the sin Hester and Dimmesdale committed, and acknowledges the false innocence Dimmesdale tries so desperately to maintain. Her inquisition, "Why does he not wear [a scarlet letter] outside his bosom as thou dost?" (ch 16) to her mother concerning Dimmesdale is evidence of this. Pearl has no chance to conform to society because at birth she is regarded

In “The Scarlet Letter” Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, is used as a symbol throughout the novel. Pearl is the innocent product of a sin. She has often been called a demon child due to her mischievous behavior. That comes from the absence of a father figure. Pearl shows a wildness that none of the citizens of the settlement have ever seen before.