Pearl Symbolism In Scarlet Letter

In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester commits adultery, disobeying the Puritan laws, and is punished with two constant reminders of her sin, the scarlet A and her daughter, Pearl. 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 resulted from her mother’s sin. Pearl represents the conflict between good and evil, reflecting the roles 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 also acts as Hester’s tormentor, a constant reminder of her sin, and the repercussions
For example, when Hester looks into the “black mirror of Pearl’s eyes” while Pearl is looking at the scarlet letter, her face turns into “a face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice” (Hawthorne). Here, the connection between Pearl and the A intensifies because Pearl looks demon-like only when staring at the A. Additionally, Pearl is further characterized as Hester’s tormentor because “except when the child was asleep, Hester had never felt a moment's safety” (Hawthorne), meaning that she could never avoid the guilt with a manifestation of her sin always around her. Likewise, reflective images appear again when Hester and Pearl go to Governor Bellingham’s mansion, and Pearl fascinates herself with the suit of armor. While her interest in her reflection portrays her desire for self-awareness, the suit of armor also distorts the image through the “peculiar effect of this convex mirror” (Hawthorne). Hester’s scarlet letter is “greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance” and Pearl’s reflection depicts “that look of naughty merriment…. with so much breadth and intensity of effect” (Hawthorne). While the A physically hides Hester in the mirror image because of its emphasized size, Pearl also hides Hester with her demon-like reflection, both protecting and tormenting her. This is indicative of Pearl’s physical
Hawthorne selects Pearl to embody these roles to contrast Pearl’s name, symbolizing purity, with her birth out of sin, and generally portray her as a character of duality. In the end, when Pearl learns that Dimmesdale is her father, she finally loses the evil side of her, depicting that once her parents were redeemed for their sin, she could live