The Elf Child In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne
The classic American novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne deals with many themes that were relevant in Hester Prynne’s puritanical society and remain expressed in modern day America. The promising outcomes of our negative actions are shown through many symbols in the text, prominently through Pearl and the mysterious forest. The story teaches us many lessons, but Hester teaches that although bad things can happen to people, you can turn the situation around for the better. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester’s daughter Pearl is more than just a significant character, because in the story, the ‘elf child’ can be interpreted as a symbol. At the start of the novel, Hester Prynne is outed as an adulterer in her conformed New England town when she becomes pregnant. Because society knows her
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husband is gone, she is immediately thrown in jail and forced to face the repercussions of her sinful actions.
The evidence of her affair became apparent when she began showing signs of the unwed pregnancy, so essentially without Pearl, the conformed Puritanical society would never have known the truth. Many people would consider the baby a curse for instantaneously turning the townspeople against Hester, and it didn't help that for the first weeks of her life she certainly wasn’t a joy. When Pearl was born, she was a sickly, screaming baby, creating trouble for her mother. However after a visit from the controversial Doctor Chillingworth, Hester experiences a revolution in her baby. “How strange it seemed to the sad woman, as she watched the growth, and the beauty that became every day more brilliant, and the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child!” (Hawthorne
80). Pearl shows the reader that even though Hester was forced to undergo the harsh judgments of the conformed townspeople, the curse was reversed and she was blessed with a beautiful, sweet, and angelic baby. The transformation from dark to light is often seen in the classic line “every cloud has a silver lining,” which is commonly used to provide hope for those in sticky situations. Although Pearl perfectly represents this theme, it shown through many other symbols throughout the text. Yet another symbol for the positivity that comes from darkness is the mysterious forest. This wildly overgrown and unruly haven was the perfect place for Hester to escape the judgements of the society. Although no one could truly understand the wonders that lay in the forest, such as the black man and the witchcraft, the townspeople’s fears prevented them from stepping foot inside the world of unknown. Under the shade of the thick branches, Hester was able to come to the realization that she had to escape the conformed society with her recent lover the Reverend Dimmsdale and daughter for a new start. Hawthorne writes that “Such was the sympathy of nature that wild, heathen nature of the forest, never subjugate by human law, nor illumined by high truth with the bliss of these two spirits! Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create a sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance that it overflows upon the outward world,”(193). The author shows us that from the seemingly dark and scary place came a new feeling of happiness, and self assurance for Hester. It is also literally apparent when the beam of sunshine looks down on Pearl, that good things are coming out of the dark place. It is clear that the forest represents the reoccurring the theme of light emerging from darkness. Although the times have literally changed, the lessons taught in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne remain currently practiced. The timeless idea of positively benefitting from negative experiences was expressed in the novel through the character Pearl and the setting of the dark forest, however you can see it in modern examples, like the silver lining we find in storm clouds. The Scarlet Letter is a perfect bridge to colonial America, although its relevance is still taught today.
husband is gone, she is immediately thrown in jail and forced to face the repercussions of her sinful actions.
The evidence of her affair became apparent when she began showing signs of the unwed pregnancy, so essentially without Pearl, the conformed Puritanical society would never have known the truth. Many people would consider the baby a curse for instantaneously turning the townspeople against Hester, and it didn't help that for the first weeks of her life she certainly wasn’t a joy. When Pearl was born, she was a sickly, screaming baby, creating trouble for her mother. However after a visit from the controversial Doctor Chillingworth, Hester experiences a revolution in her baby. “How strange it seemed to the sad woman, as she watched the growth, and the beauty that became every day more brilliant, and the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child!” (Hawthorne
80). Pearl shows the reader that even though Hester was forced to undergo the harsh judgments of the conformed townspeople, the curse was reversed and she was blessed with a beautiful, sweet, and angelic baby. The transformation from dark to light is often seen in the classic line “every cloud has a silver lining,” which is commonly used to provide hope for those in sticky situations. Although Pearl perfectly represents this theme, it shown through many other symbols throughout the text. Yet another symbol for the positivity that comes from darkness is the mysterious forest. This wildly overgrown and unruly haven was the perfect place for Hester to escape the judgements of the society. Although no one could truly understand the wonders that lay in the forest, such as the black man and the witchcraft, the townspeople’s fears prevented them from stepping foot inside the world of unknown. Under the shade of the thick branches, Hester was able to come to the realization that she had to escape the conformed society with her recent lover the Reverend Dimmsdale and daughter for a new start. Hawthorne writes that “Such was the sympathy of nature that wild, heathen nature of the forest, never subjugate by human law, nor illumined by high truth with the bliss of these two spirits! Love, whether newly born, or aroused from a deathlike slumber, must always create a sunshine, filling the heart so full of radiance that it overflows upon the outward world,”(193). The author shows us that from the seemingly dark and scary place came a new feeling of happiness, and self assurance for Hester. It is also literally apparent when the beam of sunshine looks down on Pearl, that good things are coming out of the dark place. It is clear that the forest represents the reoccurring the theme of light emerging from darkness. Although the times have literally changed, the lessons taught in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne remain currently practiced. The timeless idea of positively benefitting from negative experiences was expressed in the novel through the character Pearl and the setting of the dark forest, however you can see it in modern examples, like the silver lining we find in storm clouds. The Scarlet Letter is a perfect bridge to colonial America, although its relevance is still taught today.