The Symbolism Of Pearl In The Scarlet Letter

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

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.

Pearl acts as a physical embodiment of the scarlet letter as she serves as a reminder to Hester regarding the shamefulness of her sin. Pearl also is clothed similar to it and follows her mother everywhere similar to the letter. The letter was put on Hester from the strict rules of Puritan society. Despite Pearl being made from sin rather than given to Hester by Puritan society, she still shares a similarity as she protects Hester from actions viewed as sinful by Puritan society. After Hester and Pearl’s visit to the Governor’s mansion Mistress Hibbins suggests that Hester go to the woods and take part in witchcraft.

Pearl is the daughter of Hester Pryne and Dimmesdale. She was created out of sin because her parents whom committed adultery. Pearl is an outcast almost her whole life in the Puritan Community. She is

Originally The scarlet letter was suppose to be a symbol of shame, but instead it becomes a symbol of courage for Hester. With this courage the “A” eventually begins to stand for “Able.” The Native Americans who come to watch the Election Day pageant believe the scarlet letter portrays Hester as a person of importance and status. The scarlet letter also stands as a physical reminder of Hester’s affair with Dimmesdale. With all of the good deeds Hester performs the townspeople begin to “ignore” the letter and accept her as a person and a mother.

There are many symbols in the Scarlet Letter, but three symbols that really stand out are the scarlet letter itself, Pearl, and the rose outside the prison door. They stand out because they each have their own interesting story behind them and how the author, Nathaniel Hawthorn, used them to symbolize different things throughout the book is unique. Pearl is a symbol of how public sin can set one apart. She is looked at as different than the other children. None of the other children wanted to play with Pearl, because they didn’t like the fact that her mother was Hester Prynne or that she was born outside of wedlock.

Pearl envelopes an enigmatic representation about herself, additionally she adds a completely new definition of development for the town and even her mother, Hester Prynn. Pearl is mysterious, not a great amount has been discovered or learned about her from the village. Pearl is beginning to be introduced to the world due to her reveal to Reverend Dimmesdale, John Wilson, and (Mr. Bellingham?). After encountering Pearl, Reverend Dimmesdale and his accompanying men begin to see that Pearl may be just fine in Hester’s hands. They surrender their enmity towards Hester’s sins and begin to give her the benefit of the doubt. Pearl brings upon a revelation that she is Hester’s counterpiece, the Ying to her Yang. Even though Hester is able to make the worst of things seem of absolute beauty and significance, Pearl is a child without

the child a kiss on the forehead. This kiss hints that Dimmesdale is Pearl 's

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

When she was born Pearl is portrayed as being “worthy... to be the playthings of angels” ( Hawthorne 62). In this brief instant Pearl seems like the only character thus far who would not be affected by the issue of morality and sin. But soon society’s judgement rains down and it becomes obvious that morality and sin would forever be part of little Pearl’s life, because from the beginning “ however white and clear” the rays of moral life were originally “ they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the fiery lustre, the black shadow, and the untempered light, of the intervening substance” and throughout the whole story society seems to believe that “ Pearl was a demon offspring” (Hawthorne 63 and 69). Throughout the story Pearl “ the living hieroglyphic, in which was revealed the secret they so darkly sought to hide”, serves as a constant reminder to society that Adultery did happen despite the constant change of the meanings of the scarlet letter (Hawthorne 140). Pearl also functions as a reminder to Hester that her sin and past will always be part of her, Pearl is constantly aware of the presence of the scarlet letter on hester’s bosom and is unwavering in keeping it on her mother’s

In the scarlet letter, Pearl is a symbol of an act of love and passion, an act that is also adultery, as well as her father’s mistakes. She is also what the Puritan’s cannot understand. She is the natural law unleashed, the freedom of the law. The story starts in the seventeenth century Boston in a Puritan settlement. A young Hester Prynne is led to the scaffold, along with her newborn Pearl, and the scarlet letter A on her chest. As Hester is standing on the scaffold, we learn that she is being punished for adultery and her secrecy. Shunned by the community, the two live in a small cottage on the outskirts of Boston where Pearl grows up.

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

The deepest songs and poems and stories are not just what they appear on the surface; they contain deeper meanings. Hawthorn's Scarlet Letter is but one example of a story with a deeper meaning. Intellectually, humans often are attracted to the waters which hold a reflection, but their depths go far beyond—ideas and things that are not always what they seem. In many master pieces in literature, symbolism is a concept often used. The most adroitly told stories often contain more than one meaning to a signal idea or symbol. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorn, symbolism is widespread and prevalent through the story, nearly every object and action containing a deeper meaning.

"There is no law, nor revernce for authority, no regard for human ordinances or opinions, right or wrong, mixed up with that child's composition." (Hawthrone, 73) After Hester Prynne commited adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale, she gave birth to a baby girl who she named Pearl. The townspeople regard Pearl as the child of the Devil due to her actions, attitude, and missing father. Pearl, from The Scarlet Letter, is a mischievous young girl that is also seen as her mother's only

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.