Throughout Hawthorne’s novel, he constructs an elaborate framework in order to address the sins of adultery, hypocrisy, vengeance, and man’s inhumanity to man. In the first eight chapters of The Scarlet Letter, he examines the sin of adultery, manifested in Hester Prynne. However, without the triad of Pearl and Hester Prynne versus the Puritan community, Hawthorne would not have been able to effectively communicate the themes of this portion of the book to the reader, nor would he have been able to build to many of the themes later revealed in the novel. The triad between Hester, Pearl, and the Puritans contributes to the themes of The Scarlet Letter the most because it enables the author to show the sin of adultery and its consequences in
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In Chapter 2, he employs this triad in the scaffold scene, during which Hester is forced to display her sin, embodied by Pearl, to the entire community. Later in the scene he writes, “with the scarlet token of infamy on her breast; with the sin-born infant in her arms; with a whole people, drawn forth as to a festival,” (39). This quotation demonstrates how, in punishment for adultery, Hester is forced to parade around her sin, represented by both Pearl and the scarlet letter which she wears. The scene opens the eyes of twenty-first century readers, to whom adultery would be something dealt with privately, to how the communities of 1642 Puritan Boston were run. Having read this, readers are able to put the situation into perspective and better see the themes which Hawthorne writes. Another instance in the novel when Hawthorne uses this triad is in Chapters 7 and 8, in which Hester learns the community plans to “deprive her of her child” (68). Because of her sin, the Puritans believe that Hester is unfit to teach Pearl about God. While disputing this with Puritan officials Hester says, “See ye not, she is the scarlet …show more content…
One notable use of this triad to show for the aforementioned purpose is in Chapter 6, when Hawthorne writes, “Never, since her release from prison, had she met the public gaze without her. In all her walks about the town, Pearl, too, was there,” (64). This quote from Hawthorne’s novel exposes the close relationship established between Pearl and Hester as a result of the community’s disgust with the sin that Hester committed; for Hester, who is alone in the world, Pearl acts as a “safety blanket”, in that having her nearby to hold onto provides Hester with a sense of comfort. At another point, the text reads, “Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world,” (64). This telegraphic sentence intentionally stands out among Hawthorne’s many long, convoluted sentences; Hawthorne wishes to communicate to the reader that not only is Hester an outcast because of her sin, her daughter must suffer through a life of seclusion as well. During Chapter 8, when the community wants to take Pearl from her mother, Hawthorne writes, “alone in the world, cast off by it, and with this sole treasure,” in description of Hester. This is yet another instance where Pearl is portrayed as a source of
In Chapter 2, he employs this triad in the scaffold scene, during which Hester is forced to display her sin, embodied by Pearl, to the entire community. Later in the scene he writes, “with the scarlet token of infamy on her breast; with the sin-born infant in her arms; with a whole people, drawn forth as to a festival,” (39). This quotation demonstrates how, in punishment for adultery, Hester is forced to parade around her sin, represented by both Pearl and the scarlet letter which she wears. The scene opens the eyes of twenty-first century readers, to whom adultery would be something dealt with privately, to how the communities of 1642 Puritan Boston were run. Having read this, readers are able to put the situation into perspective and better see the themes which Hawthorne writes. Another instance in the novel when Hawthorne uses this triad is in Chapters 7 and 8, in which Hester learns the community plans to “deprive her of her child” (68). Because of her sin, the Puritans believe that Hester is unfit to teach Pearl about God. While disputing this with Puritan officials Hester says, “See ye not, she is the scarlet …show more content…
One notable use of this triad to show for the aforementioned purpose is in Chapter 6, when Hawthorne writes, “Never, since her release from prison, had she met the public gaze without her. In all her walks about the town, Pearl, too, was there,” (64). This quote from Hawthorne’s novel exposes the close relationship established between Pearl and Hester as a result of the community’s disgust with the sin that Hester committed; for Hester, who is alone in the world, Pearl acts as a “safety blanket”, in that having her nearby to hold onto provides Hester with a sense of comfort. At another point, the text reads, “Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world,” (64). This telegraphic sentence intentionally stands out among Hawthorne’s many long, convoluted sentences; Hawthorne wishes to communicate to the reader that not only is Hester an outcast because of her sin, her daughter must suffer through a life of seclusion as well. During Chapter 8, when the community wants to take Pearl from her mother, Hawthorne writes, “alone in the world, cast off by it, and with this sole treasure,” in description of Hester. This is yet another instance where Pearl is portrayed as a source of