Pearl In The Scarlet Letter Essay
Brandon H.
12.17.2012
C.A. Rough
Pearl In “The Scarlet Letter”, Nathanial Hawthorne masterfully weaves symbolism into his plot. The smaller implied themes of the story add an element to “The Scarlet Letter” that is lacking in many books, modern and classic. Pearl, being the daughter of one of the main characters, is portrayed in two ways, just like many of the other characters in the story. In Hawthorne’s tale of the scarlet letter, Pearl Prynne is represented as both a symbol as well as a main character in the story. First, Pearl is most commonly seen as a character. Although this may seem like an obvious point, it is an important one when contrasting her different meanings in the story. Many of her characteristics translate into …show more content…
She was the offspring of a sin, and an obvious condemnation of it. Her mother is known all through the book to both the reader, and characters in the book, and Pearl receives many attributes from her. This quote, though long describes this well. "Throughout all, however, there was a trait of passion, a certain depth of hue....The child could not be made amenable to rules....The mother's impassioned state had been the medium through which were transmitted to the unborn infant the rays of its moral life; and, however white and clear originally, they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the fiery luster, the black shadow, and the untempered light of the intervening substance. Above all, the warfare of Hester's spirit, at that epoch, was perpetuated in Pearl." (pg. 83) Pearl recognizes this and does not shy away from it at all, "'I am my mother's child,' answered the scarlet vision, 'and my name is Pearl!'" (pg. 101)
Society also plays a big role in Pearl’s development as a character. She is shunned from society, and considered an outcast, just like her mother. She is forced to look for happiness in her own imagination as a friend, and her spunkiness as her only entertainment. She has no friends in the town that would play with her, and is commonly referred to as the “…child demon…,” (Ch. 22 somewhere) by many of the town’s highly respected …show more content…
She is shown as an offspring of sin, yet she is a lasting hope for the characters involved in the sin. She is the only friend of her mother. When her father is revealed on his deathbed, he only wants a kiss from her, and he wants her to succeed after him. "Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a party, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it. Towards her mother, too, Pearl's errand as a messenger of anguish was all fulfilled." (pg.
12.17.2012
C.A. Rough
Pearl In “The Scarlet Letter”, Nathanial Hawthorne masterfully weaves symbolism into his plot. The smaller implied themes of the story add an element to “The Scarlet Letter” that is lacking in many books, modern and classic. Pearl, being the daughter of one of the main characters, is portrayed in two ways, just like many of the other characters in the story. In Hawthorne’s tale of the scarlet letter, Pearl Prynne is represented as both a symbol as well as a main character in the story. First, Pearl is most commonly seen as a character. Although this may seem like an obvious point, it is an important one when contrasting her different meanings in the story. Many of her characteristics translate into …show more content…
She was the offspring of a sin, and an obvious condemnation of it. Her mother is known all through the book to both the reader, and characters in the book, and Pearl receives many attributes from her. This quote, though long describes this well. "Throughout all, however, there was a trait of passion, a certain depth of hue....The child could not be made amenable to rules....The mother's impassioned state had been the medium through which were transmitted to the unborn infant the rays of its moral life; and, however white and clear originally, they had taken the deep stains of crimson and gold, the fiery luster, the black shadow, and the untempered light of the intervening substance. Above all, the warfare of Hester's spirit, at that epoch, was perpetuated in Pearl." (pg. 83) Pearl recognizes this and does not shy away from it at all, "'I am my mother's child,' answered the scarlet vision, 'and my name is Pearl!'" (pg. 101)
Society also plays a big role in Pearl’s development as a character. She is shunned from society, and considered an outcast, just like her mother. She is forced to look for happiness in her own imagination as a friend, and her spunkiness as her only entertainment. She has no friends in the town that would play with her, and is commonly referred to as the “…child demon…,” (Ch. 22 somewhere) by many of the town’s highly respected …show more content…
She is shown as an offspring of sin, yet she is a lasting hope for the characters involved in the sin. She is the only friend of her mother. When her father is revealed on his deathbed, he only wants a kiss from her, and he wants her to succeed after him. "Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a party, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it. Towards her mother, too, Pearl's errand as a messenger of anguish was all fulfilled." (pg.