Children are often considered the people who bring out the best parts of human nature. This is partly a result of the care and love children demand, and their simplistic lives. Pearl, in Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, does not have a life of simplicity, as she is welcomed into the Puritan world as an “elf-child.” However, she indirectly functions as a spark, igniting better versions of those who surround her. Throughout Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, while Pearl serves as a symbol of forbidden passion and natural liberty, she also is a catalyst, influencing various characters to accept their sin.
Pearl has almost no relationship with her father, however, Pearl influences her father to confess his sin at the end of the novel. After Pearl, …show more content…
For Hester, Pearl is a catalyst because Hester is forced to accept her sin because she gave birth to Pearl. Hester sees Pearl as a burden since Pearl is proof of her sin, and for that Hester resents Pearl. Pearl’s name expresses Hester’s ambivalence towards her: “But she named the infant “Pearl,” as a being of great price, —purchased with all she had, —her mother’s only treasure! [. . .] God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child [. . .]” (81). Pearl provokes Hester to be an outcast and forces her to abandon her community, her reputation, and all other elements of her past life. Although Pearl prevents Hester from the choice of concealing her sin since she was pregnant, Pearl also ignites Hester’s strength. When Governor Richard Bellingham, Reverend John Wilson, Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth approach Hester regarding her giving up Pearl, she replies, “‘God gave her into my keeping,’ repeated Hester Prynne, raising her voice almost to a shriek. ‘I will not give her up’” (103). Hester becomes a stronger person in an effort to be a voice for Pearl. Hester believes God has given her the responsibility to care for Pearl, so she rejects the demands of multiple men. Although Dimmesdale ultimately assists Hester in allowing her to continue caring for Pearl, Hester’s resistance to Bellingham, Wilson, and Chillingworth is remarkable since they are all male leaders within her community. Hester’s growth as a character is in part due to her developing a motherly nature as a result of
Pearl has almost no relationship with her father, however, Pearl influences her father to confess his sin at the end of the novel. After Pearl, …show more content…
For Hester, Pearl is a catalyst because Hester is forced to accept her sin because she gave birth to Pearl. Hester sees Pearl as a burden since Pearl is proof of her sin, and for that Hester resents Pearl. Pearl’s name expresses Hester’s ambivalence towards her: “But she named the infant “Pearl,” as a being of great price, —purchased with all she had, —her mother’s only treasure! [. . .] God, as a direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child [. . .]” (81). Pearl provokes Hester to be an outcast and forces her to abandon her community, her reputation, and all other elements of her past life. Although Pearl prevents Hester from the choice of concealing her sin since she was pregnant, Pearl also ignites Hester’s strength. When Governor Richard Bellingham, Reverend John Wilson, Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth approach Hester regarding her giving up Pearl, she replies, “‘God gave her into my keeping,’ repeated Hester Prynne, raising her voice almost to a shriek. ‘I will not give her up’” (103). Hester becomes a stronger person in an effort to be a voice for Pearl. Hester believes God has given her the responsibility to care for Pearl, so she rejects the demands of multiple men. Although Dimmesdale ultimately assists Hester in allowing her to continue caring for Pearl, Hester’s resistance to Bellingham, Wilson, and Chillingworth is remarkable since they are all male leaders within her community. Hester’s growth as a character is in part due to her developing a motherly nature as a result of