Due to the Puritanical beliefs of the society 1630s, Pearl was destined to be hated before she was even born. The townspeople expect Hester to give birth to an ugly and demonic child because it is the direct product of sin. The fact that Pearl looks completely normal is a very radical idea for the Puritan society, and could be a comment on how ridiculous their beliefs were. The extreme stigma that surrounded any kind of sin at that time guaranteed that Pearl, the product of that sin, would be despised just as Hester was. Pearl is constantly with Hester thus she is subjected to all of the harassment that her mother receives as well as what is directed at her. As Hawthorne describes, “Pearl would grow positively terrible in her puny wrath, snatching up stones to fling
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. . came up, and smelt of Pearl’s robe, and offered his savage head to be patted by her hand” (Hawthorne 194). This is essentially implying that she is as savage and wild as that wolf. The townspeople are also very nosy and curious about Pearl’s father, but because they have no clue about who he could be, they have to speculate. This leads them to the perfect opportunity to insult Hester and Pearl by implying that the devil was her father, as shown in the text, “They say, child, thou art of the lineage of the Prince of Air!” (Hawthorne 227). This is further evidence of the people’s narrow focus on Hester’s sin and shows how vocal they are about it. This could also explain where Pearl learns to say the phrase “I have no Heavenly Father!” (Hawthorne 100) which, in the townspeople’s minds, proves them right. The community is obviously not trying to hide the fact that they do not like Hester and Pearl. Given how intelligent Pearl is shown to be, there is no doubt that she would pick up on the fact that no one liked her, which could cause extreme emotional
. . came up, and smelt of Pearl’s robe, and offered his savage head to be patted by her hand” (Hawthorne 194). This is essentially implying that she is as savage and wild as that wolf. The townspeople are also very nosy and curious about Pearl’s father, but because they have no clue about who he could be, they have to speculate. This leads them to the perfect opportunity to insult Hester and Pearl by implying that the devil was her father, as shown in the text, “They say, child, thou art of the lineage of the Prince of Air!” (Hawthorne 227). This is further evidence of the people’s narrow focus on Hester’s sin and shows how vocal they are about it. This could also explain where Pearl learns to say the phrase “I have no Heavenly Father!” (Hawthorne 100) which, in the townspeople’s minds, proves them right. The community is obviously not trying to hide the fact that they do not like Hester and Pearl. Given how intelligent Pearl is shown to be, there is no doubt that she would pick up on the fact that no one liked her, which could cause extreme emotional