Scarlet Letter Pearl Symbolism

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,

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne characterizes Pearl with contrasting personalities and roles she plays in Hester’s life. Pearl’s conflicting personality components, innocence and defiance, both derive from her isolation from society, which transpired because of her mother’s sin. Pearl represents the conflict between everything good and dark, which reflects in the role she plays in Hester’s life, as the physical embodiment of the A. While Pearl serves as a savior to Hester, representing possible redemption, she is also Hester’s tormentor, a constant reminder of her sin, and the consequences of disobeying her Puritan nature and religion. Hawthorne’s intent is established in the novel through Pearl’s attachment to the A, the mirror

Although the town commonly recognizes Pearl for her misbehavior, everyone also knows Pearl for her pure beauty and innocence. They do not define her for her mother’s mistake. Pearl, “a lovely and immortal flower,”(61) seems to radiate her beauty everywhere she goes. In nature, a rose symbolizes immortal love and passion. Coincidentally, Pearl is a product of her mother’s passion, and Hester has an immortal love for her even though Pearl symbolizes a mistake in her life.

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

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

The Puritan era in New England was inundated with an atmosphere of righteousness and judgment. This culture spurned those who strayed from its religious codes. In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses multiple symbols to bring a deeper meaning to the society, his characters, and to adultery. One of the motifs used comes as the character Pearl, the daughter of the two adulterers. Pearl has multiple descriptions; physically, she is “a lovely and immortal flower,” yet also “an airy sprite . . . as if she were hovering in the air and might vanish” (80, 83). She has a “wild, desperate, defiant mood” and is often referred to as a “flower,” a “bird,” and an “elf” (82, 80, 98, 87). Hawthorne uses Pearl’s multi-layered personality

She was born in a prison, and is being raised in a cottage that is nowhere near the village where all the other children grow up. When people call her such things, she does hear, so this hurts her emotionally and makes this an internal conflict for she must deal with the feelings of being different and judged by others. Since she is isolated from that part of a normal childhood, her only friend in the novel growing up is her mother. This being another internal conflict because she grew knowing her mother always wears the scarlet letter, and is in a certain community that has rules about women. Now in the novel, chapter 17, Hester takes off a garment that covers her hair and removes the scarlet letter from her bosom. Pearl seeing this throws a tantrum for her mother to undo this doing. Causing a major internal conflict of how Pearl sees her mother and dealing with what her mother’s symbols stand for. Pearl mocks her mother for that. There’s an external conflict created by Pearl towards Dimmesdale for when he is conversing with Hester in the forest and he dwells for a kiss, but Pearl refrains. Pearl is a strange child, for she knows something must be going on.

In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is often regarded as a symbol to that of the suffering of Hester Prynne and the shamed Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale but Pearls significance is more than just symbolizing the sin committed by her parents. She in many ways represents the innocence that the puritan belief is regressing itself to have. Hawthorne constructs Pearl as an evolving symbol for Hester and Dimmsdale and her progression as a character is shown through that of the actions set forth by these characters. Since the inception of the act of adultery by Hester and Dimmesdale, Pearl is developed by sin but she is not conformed to sin and as a result symbolizing a release of sin. She is essentially the road from childhood to adulthood, innocence to innocence lost to finally understanding and accepting the card that we are all delved with and that’s life after sin.

The characters in The Scarlet Letter are individually viewed differently by the people in the town. Pearl, the infant in the beginning scaffold scene, is a complex character in the novel that is subjected to the cruel comments and rude behavior of the townspeople. Although Pearl is shown as a human character just like all the other characters, Pearls main purpose is to be a living, complicated symbol for the scarlet letter “A” that her mother is forced to wear. Along with the letter “A” printed on her mother’s chest, Pearl is seen as evil and often considered a child of the devil. Although that observation is based solely on the opinions of the townspeople and the letter her mother wears, Pearl often acts in a manner that could be described

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

“She screamed and shouted, too, with a terrific volume of sound which, doubtless, caused the hearts of the fugitives to quake within them. The victory accomplished, Pearl returned quietly to her mother, and looked up, smiling, into her face.”(96). Pearl yells at the kids who are throwing mud at her mother because she is a child and doesn’t know any better. “At first, as already told, she had flirted fancifully with her own image in a pool of water, beckoning the phantom forth, and—as it declined to venture—seeking a passage for herself into the sphere of impalpable earth and unattainable sky.(168). Now that she is older, she has noticed how her mother acts around other people and plays by herself. She has fun even though she is her only friend. Pearl begins to care about other things than just herself. “Perceiving a flock of beach birds that fed and fluttered along the shore, the naughty child picked up her apron full of pebbles, and creeping from rock to rock after these small seafowl, displayed remarkable dexterity in pelting them.”(168). When she sees that she has hurt the poor creature she stops throwing the pebbles. Her emotions build due to her being alone for so long. Pearl wants a friend, but Hester knows that if Pearl has friends they will tell her the true meaning of the scarlet

“I was already missing before the night I left, just me and my shadows and all of my regrets. Who am I? Who am I when I don’t know myself?” Pearl is used as symbolism throughout the entire story. Pearl is the physical representation of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale’s sin.

        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

The novel “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne was published in the 1850s, and takes place in the Boston, Massachusetts area during the 17th Century when Puritans were the main population. Hester Prynne, is accused of committing adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet A against her chest and care for Pearl, Her daughter who is born from the tryst. In the beginning of the novel, both Pearl and the Letter are introduced at the same time aspressed against Hester’s chest. Though she chooses to hold the child close to her and the Letter is thrust upon her, Hawthorne shows the reader how determined she is to take these symbols of sin and integrate them into her life and create her own identity.