What Makes Pearl a Symbol
A symbol is something that stands for something else, something real that stands for or suggests another thing that cannot itself be pictured. Set in a seventeenth century Puritan settlement in Boston, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, introduces the reader to a symbol embodied in the character Pearl. Hawthorne’s story is about a woman named Hester Prynne, the protagonist who has committed and was punished for adultery, which resulted in the birth of her daughter, Pearl. The storyline explores the interactions between Hester, Pearl, Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl’s biological father, and Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband. Throughout the story Pearl is a symbolic character. Pearl is seen as many symbols …show more content…
Pearl gives her mother a reason to live when her mother is ready to give up. As a tiny blessing in her mother’s arms, Pearl gives her mother the courage to stand on the scaffold and face her punishment. Pearl is also her mother’s happiness, which is discussed in the following quotes: “God gave me the child!“ cried she. “ he gave her in requital of all things else, which he had taken from me. She is my happiness!” (103; ch. 8). Hester sees Pearl as a miracle from God. “She recognizes, believe me, the solemn, miracle which God hath wrought, in the existence of that child. And may she feel, too, what, me thinks, is the very truth, that this boon was meant above all things else, to keep the mother’s sole alive, and to preserve her from blacker depths of sin into which Satan might else have sought to punch her” (104; ch.8). Hester’s quote demonstrates her belief that Pearl’s birth gives her a reason to live and keeps her alive. This symbolism is also apparent in Hester’s choice of names for her daughter, Pearl. Hester views Pearl as a precious gemstone, similar to a Pearl formed over many years in an oyster which is used to make beautiful jewelry. Hester wishes to protect and shield Pearl, like a precious gem, from the sin of her scarlet letter. Pearl represents a symbol of blessing to her mother for her reason to live, her happiness, and as a miracle from
A symbol is something that stands for something else, something real that stands for or suggests another thing that cannot itself be pictured. Set in a seventeenth century Puritan settlement in Boston, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, introduces the reader to a symbol embodied in the character Pearl. Hawthorne’s story is about a woman named Hester Prynne, the protagonist who has committed and was punished for adultery, which resulted in the birth of her daughter, Pearl. The storyline explores the interactions between Hester, Pearl, Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl’s biological father, and Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband. Throughout the story Pearl is a symbolic character. Pearl is seen as many symbols …show more content…
Pearl gives her mother a reason to live when her mother is ready to give up. As a tiny blessing in her mother’s arms, Pearl gives her mother the courage to stand on the scaffold and face her punishment. Pearl is also her mother’s happiness, which is discussed in the following quotes: “God gave me the child!“ cried she. “ he gave her in requital of all things else, which he had taken from me. She is my happiness!” (103; ch. 8). Hester sees Pearl as a miracle from God. “She recognizes, believe me, the solemn, miracle which God hath wrought, in the existence of that child. And may she feel, too, what, me thinks, is the very truth, that this boon was meant above all things else, to keep the mother’s sole alive, and to preserve her from blacker depths of sin into which Satan might else have sought to punch her” (104; ch.8). Hester’s quote demonstrates her belief that Pearl’s birth gives her a reason to live and keeps her alive. This symbolism is also apparent in Hester’s choice of names for her daughter, Pearl. Hester views Pearl as a precious gemstone, similar to a Pearl formed over many years in an oyster which is used to make beautiful jewelry. Hester wishes to protect and shield Pearl, like a precious gem, from the sin of her scarlet letter. Pearl represents a symbol of blessing to her mother for her reason to live, her happiness, and as a miracle from