Scarlet Letter Pearl Quotes

“But she [Hester] had named the infant “Pearl,” as being of great price, - purchased with all she had, - her mother's only treasure!” writes Nathaniel Hawthorne in the Scarlet Letter about Pearl, the most complex character present in the novel thus far, who continues being seen as a misunderstood child due to her association with her mother and the the child of the scarlet “A”. Hester pays the greatest price in giving birth to Pearl, as she receives a lifelong, physical reminder of her faults. Pearl's presence becomes a symbol of punishment from God for her sins of adultery. In order to prove to herself of Pearl's existence and the reality of her sins, she begins “to snatch her to her bosom, with a close pressure and earnest kisses, - not so much from overflowing love, to assure herself that Pearl was flesh and blood, and not utterly delusive,” (116). …show more content…
The Puritan townspeople believe Pearl to be a “devils-child” due to the status under which she was born and at times Hester questions herself being as she does not believe this to be true. Hester plays with the idea of Pearl being a sign of the devil and because of this common belief throughout the society of Boston, “mother and daughter stood together in the circle of seclusion from human society,” (118). As Pearl nears the age of three, she gains a quick wit and complex understanding of language as she responds to questions of character presented by her mother with “Tell me, mother!” and “It is thou that must tell