Pearl – the Elf-child Ironically, a child, born in sin, serves its only evidence. Blithesome Pearl is an illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. None of Boston residents would ever expect these two fellow citizens to be capable of committing such a terrible crime as adultery. Thus, if Pearl was never born, the scarlet letter would not have been put on Hester’s chest. Besides letting the story unfold, Pearl, a very carefully thought out character, serves not only as a constant reminder and a symbol of Hester’s sin, as well as her only treasure; her consolation, but also as an independent character with her own motivation, beliefs, ideals, morals and destiny.
A Reader cannot help noticing how fast the newborn develops. Pearl’s ability to speak in full sentences at three years old makes one assume that she is an extremely intelligent and unique child. While Pearl is raised solely by her mother, her intelligence develops into supernaturally strong intuition. Unsurprisingly, she is able to unravel Chillingworth secret and immediately identify him as a “Black Man” (525, Hawthorne). Also, …show more content…
On one hand, although Pearl knows what the letter means, she wants her mother to say it out loud, to admit it, as if it is her goal to make Hester suffer. On the other hand, Pearl puts the letter on her own chest “A letter—the letter A—but freshly green instead of scarlet” (548). Hester’s letter is scarlet as a symbol of an outrageous sin, whereas Pearl’s letter is “freshly green” and made out of eel-grass. Such a “naturaly” green colored letter represents nature’s approval and agreement. It may even seem that instead of trying to hurt her mother, Pearl had actually felt a spiritual connection with Hester and even become thankful of mother’s crime which led to her
A Reader cannot help noticing how fast the newborn develops. Pearl’s ability to speak in full sentences at three years old makes one assume that she is an extremely intelligent and unique child. While Pearl is raised solely by her mother, her intelligence develops into supernaturally strong intuition. Unsurprisingly, she is able to unravel Chillingworth secret and immediately identify him as a “Black Man” (525, Hawthorne). Also, …show more content…
On one hand, although Pearl knows what the letter means, she wants her mother to say it out loud, to admit it, as if it is her goal to make Hester suffer. On the other hand, Pearl puts the letter on her own chest “A letter—the letter A—but freshly green instead of scarlet” (548). Hester’s letter is scarlet as a symbol of an outrageous sin, whereas Pearl’s letter is “freshly green” and made out of eel-grass. Such a “naturaly” green colored letter represents nature’s approval and agreement. It may even seem that instead of trying to hurt her mother, Pearl had actually felt a spiritual connection with Hester and even become thankful of mother’s crime which led to her