Pearl’s Ultimate Role As A Compass (Of Moral Means) Morality is a key influence of actions. It dictates the thought process and logic that determines the decision of a person. Without morality, it would be nearly impossible to narrow down what makes an action good or bad. Leading the person’s actions and decisions, it helps others know if a person’s decision is morally right or wrong. In The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, morality is gray, which makes it difficult to figure out if a character has made the righteous decision. Many mixed signals are given throughout the entirety of the novel regarding what is good or bad. Hester’s affair, while seemingly a terrible decision, is declared by Dimmesdale to not have been the worst
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Hawthorne altered Pearl’s role to serve as a moral compass for the characters in The Scarlet Letter, as her actions indicate whether or not they or their decisions are right or wrong. Hawthorne presents Pearl’s refusal of Mr. Wilson to confirm the moral impurity of him, implying that Pearl senses who is morally corrupt. Wilson is a minor character who is a magistrate in the town. Korobkin, a literary critic, writes about magistrates in the novel, saying in The Scarlet Letter Of The Law that “Hawthorne’s fictional magistrates are the criminal justice system” (Korobkin, 328). The author provides an analysis of scenes where the magistrates lay down the punishments to Hester regarding her affair, supplying the reason that they are the justice system as they dish out the consequences of braking the laws. With this supplication, it is safe to see this as a valid point describing Hawthorne’s usage of magistrates. Despite not appearing much in the novel, Wilson is a key member of the town who is essentially the law, which gives him a tremendous amount of power. He is a person of high authority who supports removing Pearl from Hester. He tries to gain favor with the young girl and “seated himself in …show more content…
He spends a great deal of time expanding on the description of Pearl’s anger, describing it as “...the shadowy wrath of of Pearl’s image...but stamping its foot, wildly gesticulating, and, in the midst of it all, still pointing its small forefinger at Hester’s bosom!” (126). The lengthy focus on Pearl and her anger, which was previously shown in the book, but never to this extent, heavily underlines the idea that there is something wrong with the removal of the letter. Critics of The Scarlet Letter have also heavily focused on the significance and meaning behind Hester’s letter. Millicent Bell, in The Obliquity Of Signs, speculates that the letter “purports to speak both for the nature of her last and for the present condition of the wearer” (Bell, 478). The letter is a direct punishment due to her affair, and represents her current state by reminding those who see her that she is living a life post-affair, making the speculation of the letter’s representation a fair assumption to make. Bell’s suggestion that the letter represents Hester’s current condition asserts the importance of the letter in Hester’s present situation, as it is an object that cannot be rid of and is vital to the identity of her, and, by extension, her daughter. Consequently, Pearl accepts Hester as soon as she places the
Hawthorne altered Pearl’s role to serve as a moral compass for the characters in The Scarlet Letter, as her actions indicate whether or not they or their decisions are right or wrong. Hawthorne presents Pearl’s refusal of Mr. Wilson to confirm the moral impurity of him, implying that Pearl senses who is morally corrupt. Wilson is a minor character who is a magistrate in the town. Korobkin, a literary critic, writes about magistrates in the novel, saying in The Scarlet Letter Of The Law that “Hawthorne’s fictional magistrates are the criminal justice system” (Korobkin, 328). The author provides an analysis of scenes where the magistrates lay down the punishments to Hester regarding her affair, supplying the reason that they are the justice system as they dish out the consequences of braking the laws. With this supplication, it is safe to see this as a valid point describing Hawthorne’s usage of magistrates. Despite not appearing much in the novel, Wilson is a key member of the town who is essentially the law, which gives him a tremendous amount of power. He is a person of high authority who supports removing Pearl from Hester. He tries to gain favor with the young girl and “seated himself in …show more content…
He spends a great deal of time expanding on the description of Pearl’s anger, describing it as “...the shadowy wrath of of Pearl’s image...but stamping its foot, wildly gesticulating, and, in the midst of it all, still pointing its small forefinger at Hester’s bosom!” (126). The lengthy focus on Pearl and her anger, which was previously shown in the book, but never to this extent, heavily underlines the idea that there is something wrong with the removal of the letter. Critics of The Scarlet Letter have also heavily focused on the significance and meaning behind Hester’s letter. Millicent Bell, in The Obliquity Of Signs, speculates that the letter “purports to speak both for the nature of her last and for the present condition of the wearer” (Bell, 478). The letter is a direct punishment due to her affair, and represents her current state by reminding those who see her that she is living a life post-affair, making the speculation of the letter’s representation a fair assumption to make. Bell’s suggestion that the letter represents Hester’s current condition asserts the importance of the letter in Hester’s present situation, as it is an object that cannot be rid of and is vital to the identity of her, and, by extension, her daughter. Consequently, Pearl accepts Hester as soon as she places the