Objectification involves acting upon a subject that has been reduced to his or her traits and abilities. Using others as a means to an end dehumanizes them. Author Nathaniel Hawthorne objectifies a main character in his novel The Scarlet Letter, which takes place in a 17th century Puritan society. In this work, Hester Prynne receives the sinful scarlet letter A after giving birth to a child, Pearl; as a result, the town ostracizes Hester largely because she refuses to disclose the father’s name. Always by her mother’s side, the wild and mysterious Pearl becomes the living version of her mother’s letter. Pearl’s connection to others sparks two transformations, first changing her from a static object to a dynamic one, and then from an object
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Still, the child is Hester’s most precious possession, and Hester knows that she occurred naturally. In exchange for her child and her sin, Hester withdraws from the judgmental Puritan community into the stygian forest with Pearl. Her mother’s continued refusal to name Pearl’s father makes it seem like the girl has no father at all; she instead appears to have originated from a dark evil. As if possessed with a spirit, the child obsessively touches her mother’s scarlet letter in search of her true origins, a fascination that begins the moment she is born. At this point, Hester only perceives her daughter as a living symbol of the scarlet letter, going so far as to dress her in scarlet. Like the embroidered letter on her breast, Hester covers her shame of Pearl by covering her with brilliant beauty. Atypically, Hawthorne describes the toddler as having “no physical …show more content…
This link initially forms as Hester brings Pearl to Governor Bellingham’s home after learning that others want to take her devilish daughter away. Seeing that her arguments are futile, Hester calls upon Reverend Dimmesdale—the hidden father—to vouch for her. He concedes, and with a hand over his heart, asserts that Pearl keeps her mother from the “blacker depths of sin” (Hawthorne 117). The perceptive Pearl recognizes the connection between the reverend’s hand and her mother’s letter, so she places her cheek against his hand. Kissing it, the minister discreetly recognizes Pearl as his child. Suddenly, Pearl exists between the two worlds of light and dark: one of her mother’s public expiation and the other of her father’s hidden sin. As Dimmesdale’s guilt increases, he goes on a midnight vigil to the same scaffold upon which Hester stood. He remains alone until he hears Pearl’s laughter, which drags her mother along with her. The three stand together in the market-place, but Dimmesdale lacks the courage to shed light on his secrets and completely unite himself to Pearl and Hester. Angry, Pearl refuses to accept her father if he will not acknowledge his sin. She acts the same way when she finds that her mother has discarded her letter A in the forest while planning to escape with the Reverend. Pearl forces her mother to wear her letter just as she encourages Dimmesdale to declare
Still, the child is Hester’s most precious possession, and Hester knows that she occurred naturally. In exchange for her child and her sin, Hester withdraws from the judgmental Puritan community into the stygian forest with Pearl. Her mother’s continued refusal to name Pearl’s father makes it seem like the girl has no father at all; she instead appears to have originated from a dark evil. As if possessed with a spirit, the child obsessively touches her mother’s scarlet letter in search of her true origins, a fascination that begins the moment she is born. At this point, Hester only perceives her daughter as a living symbol of the scarlet letter, going so far as to dress her in scarlet. Like the embroidered letter on her breast, Hester covers her shame of Pearl by covering her with brilliant beauty. Atypically, Hawthorne describes the toddler as having “no physical …show more content…
This link initially forms as Hester brings Pearl to Governor Bellingham’s home after learning that others want to take her devilish daughter away. Seeing that her arguments are futile, Hester calls upon Reverend Dimmesdale—the hidden father—to vouch for her. He concedes, and with a hand over his heart, asserts that Pearl keeps her mother from the “blacker depths of sin” (Hawthorne 117). The perceptive Pearl recognizes the connection between the reverend’s hand and her mother’s letter, so she places her cheek against his hand. Kissing it, the minister discreetly recognizes Pearl as his child. Suddenly, Pearl exists between the two worlds of light and dark: one of her mother’s public expiation and the other of her father’s hidden sin. As Dimmesdale’s guilt increases, he goes on a midnight vigil to the same scaffold upon which Hester stood. He remains alone until he hears Pearl’s laughter, which drags her mother along with her. The three stand together in the market-place, but Dimmesdale lacks the courage to shed light on his secrets and completely unite himself to Pearl and Hester. Angry, Pearl refuses to accept her father if he will not acknowledge his sin. She acts the same way when she finds that her mother has discarded her letter A in the forest while planning to escape with the Reverend. Pearl forces her mother to wear her letter just as she encourages Dimmesdale to declare