Analysis of a Quote from The Scarlet Letter

“’Dear little Pearl, wilt thou kiss me now? Thou wouldst not, yonder, in the forest! But now thou wilt?’ Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken.” This quote, coming from chapter 23 in The Scarlet Letter, shows another example of how Dimmesdale attempts to free his soul before he dies. Throughout this entire chapter, Dimmesdale tries to cleanse his heart by telling the townspeople that he is not the man that they know and love. Instead, he is a sinner who has committed adultery with Hester Prynne. He does this so that he can die without the weight of guilt on his chest. After Dimmesdale says all that needs to be said to free him, he dies. This quote plays a very influential part in the story because it deals with the connection between Hester, Pearl and Dimmesdale. Right after Dimmesdale confronts the townspeople about his sin; he collapses and asked Pearl to give him a kiss. As the quote says, Pearl kisses his lips and “A spell was broken.” The spell represented the union that never existed between Pearl and her birth father. Since Pearl represents the union between Hester and Dimmesdale in the story, the kiss signifies that the spell between the three of them was broken. As Pearl kisses him, Dimmesdale realizes that he can now die in peace because he has tied up all the loose ends between him and Hester. The novel goes on to say how the tears on Pearls cheek represent the promise that she would grow up not be battle with the world but be a woman in it. The significance of this quote in the whole scheme of the novel cannot be overlooked. Dimmesdale needed to confess his sins before he dies. It’s almost as if god would not let him die until he did the right thing. He did endure punishment however, because although Hester got to wear her guilt, Dimmesdale had to keep all his guilt up inside of him. By finally kissing Pearl and breaking the curse between them; Dimmesdale knows that he had done the right thing.