Scarlet letter Journal Chpt. 13-16

Scarlet Letter Journal 13-16 Nathaniel Hawthorne continues to keep me on my toes in these chapters of the The Scarlet Letter. I found multiple themes and symbols that Hawthorne embodied in these chapters- mainly sin and effect, irony, and of course; the scarlet letter. Especially in chapters thirteen and fourteen, we see how sin is gripping on Chillingworth and Dimmesdale. Hester views Dimmesdale’s suffering as her responsibility to help him- after all, they are connected. “Hester saw- or seemed to see- that there lay a responsibility upon her, in reference to the clergyman, which she owed to no other, nor the whole world besides. The links that united her to the rest of humankind--links of flowers, or silk, or gold, or whatever the material--had all been broken. Here was the iron link of mutual crime, which neither he nor she could break.” Because of this link, Hester finds it appropriate to talk to Chillingworth about the pain and suffering he’s inflicted upon Dimmesdale. She realizes that his thirst to find the sin in Dimmesdale has changed him into a different man that he was when she was married to him, it has truly taken a toll on him inside and out. The Scarlet Letter, a beautifully embroidered “A” that represented sin and now ability, was constantly the focus of Pearl’s eyes. While Hester has an encounter with Roger Chillingworth, she tells Pearl to go play while she speaks with him. Pearl gets distracted by all of the elements of nature as she entertains herself. “Pearl took some eelgrass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother’s. A letter--the letter A--but freshly green, instead of scarlet!” Since she does this, she will not stop pestering Hester about what the “A” actually means. Ironically, She later makes the connection of Hesters “A”, and Reverend Dimmesdale always holding his chest. 1. Why is Pearl so curious about the letter- has she not made the assumption that the Reverend is her father? I know it seems like a lot to comprehend for a seven year old but she is very intelligent.
2. Why doesn’t Hester just tell Pearl what the letter means if she said she thought Pearl could very well be at an age where she could confide in her?