Hester’s daughter Pearl is brilliant, creative, and full of beauty. Her character is introduced as a constant reminder of her mother’s mistakes, yet she develops for the duration of the book as a symbol of love and passion. Through the use of setting, allusion, metaphor, irony, diction, and tone, Hawthorne creates what was once an elf-like demon of a child and turns her into a more likeable character via redemption. Overall, Hawthorne’s purpose for writing Pearl was to embody Hester’s desires, but also to create conflict between Hester and the world. Pearl is introduced to The Scarlet Letter by her mother’s side at the scaffold. Hester Prynne had just been accused for adultery, and a three-month-old daughter is the outcome of her actions.
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The allusions in The Scarlet Letter are mainly biblical, emphasizing the strong Puritan belief of seventeenth century Massachusetts Bay Colony. By stating, "Over and over again, the tempter of souls had thrust this idea upon Hester's contemplation, and laughed at the passionate and desperate joy with which she seized, and then strove to cast it from her," Hawthorne describes Hester’s temptations for another man as a sin, being the reason Pearl exists. “Tempter of souls” alludes to Satan being the tempter of sin. Hester’s desire for another man is suggested to be a work of Satan, forever placing her in suffering by giving her a child. Another example of an allusion regarding Pearl is, "An object to remind him of the image of Divine Maternity… of that sacred image of sinless motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world... Here, there was the taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life, working such effect, that the world was only the darker for this woman's beauty, and the more lost for the infant she had borne." Divine Maternity relates to Virgin Mary’s pregnancy, an image of “sacred, sinless motherhood,” with a baby who “was to redeem the world.” Hester and Pearl are described as dissimilar to Mary and Jesus in this case. Hester is not sacred but sinful, and Pearl is worse off. The world is described as only growing darker …show more content…
He uses critical diction when describing Pearl to show how terribly the world views her, but softens at times to more passionate diction to tell of her true self. Hawthorne is often caught using the word elvish, or elf-like, such as in, “Once this freakish, elvish cast came into the child’s eyes.” He also uses demon in, “...poor little Pearl was a demon offspring.” Through this, he plays into everyone’s assumption that Pearl is a sign of her mother’s sin. However, he knows more about Pearl than the townspeople do, and he knows that there is much more to her. No one truly understands Pearl like Hawthorne does; she is clever, wild, charming. He writes, “... would turn her vivid and beautiful little face upon her mother, smile with sprite-like intelligence, and resume her play.” She is overall a blessing in Hester Prynne’s cursed fate. Even though it took Hester many chapters to realize it, Pearl is the only living thing that is keeping her from surrendering to the town’s torment. Pearl’s existence shows that something good has come from Hester’s suffering, constantly expressing happiness and admiration for her
The allusions in The Scarlet Letter are mainly biblical, emphasizing the strong Puritan belief of seventeenth century Massachusetts Bay Colony. By stating, "Over and over again, the tempter of souls had thrust this idea upon Hester's contemplation, and laughed at the passionate and desperate joy with which she seized, and then strove to cast it from her," Hawthorne describes Hester’s temptations for another man as a sin, being the reason Pearl exists. “Tempter of souls” alludes to Satan being the tempter of sin. Hester’s desire for another man is suggested to be a work of Satan, forever placing her in suffering by giving her a child. Another example of an allusion regarding Pearl is, "An object to remind him of the image of Divine Maternity… of that sacred image of sinless motherhood, whose infant was to redeem the world... Here, there was the taint of deepest sin in the most sacred quality of human life, working such effect, that the world was only the darker for this woman's beauty, and the more lost for the infant she had borne." Divine Maternity relates to Virgin Mary’s pregnancy, an image of “sacred, sinless motherhood,” with a baby who “was to redeem the world.” Hester and Pearl are described as dissimilar to Mary and Jesus in this case. Hester is not sacred but sinful, and Pearl is worse off. The world is described as only growing darker …show more content…
He uses critical diction when describing Pearl to show how terribly the world views her, but softens at times to more passionate diction to tell of her true self. Hawthorne is often caught using the word elvish, or elf-like, such as in, “Once this freakish, elvish cast came into the child’s eyes.” He also uses demon in, “...poor little Pearl was a demon offspring.” Through this, he plays into everyone’s assumption that Pearl is a sign of her mother’s sin. However, he knows more about Pearl than the townspeople do, and he knows that there is much more to her. No one truly understands Pearl like Hawthorne does; she is clever, wild, charming. He writes, “... would turn her vivid and beautiful little face upon her mother, smile with sprite-like intelligence, and resume her play.” She is overall a blessing in Hester Prynne’s cursed fate. Even though it took Hester many chapters to realize it, Pearl is the only living thing that is keeping her from surrendering to the town’s torment. Pearl’s existence shows that something good has come from Hester’s suffering, constantly expressing happiness and admiration for her