Who Is The Sinner In The Scarlet Letter

Pearl Prynne, The Angel of Sinners In The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s purpose of creating the character of Pearl is to show his opinion on sin and guilt. Pearl is the living proof of Hester’s sin and every time Hester looks at her she will remember her sin and Pearl will not allow Hester nor Dimmesdale to hide from their sins. On multiple occasions, Pearl made it clear that Hester’s sin must be shown, such as when she was uncooperative with Hester after Hester had removed her scarlet letter. Also, Pearl did not care for Dimmesdale as he was hiding his sin, particularly when he is standing on the scaffolding at night and when she meets him in the forest. With all these examples of Pearl, Hawthorne’s opinion is that the sin you commit …show more content…
The reason behind her disobedience was because she disapproved of Hester removing the scarlet letter from her chest and ultimately taking her badge of shame off and running from her sin. “‘Wilt thou come across the brook, and own thy mother, now that she has her shame upon her, --now that she is sad?’ ‘Yes; now I will!’ answered the child…” (Hawthorne 190). Hawthorne is showing the symbolism of Hester’s scarlet letter. The letter stands for her sin and by removing it from her chest, Pearl sees this as though her mother trying to hide from her sin, which leads to Pearls refusal of listening to Hester. Pearl is keeping Hester guilty and making sure she knows about her sin at all times because Pearl doesn’t appreciate when the sinners try to hide from the truth of their sin. This claim through Hester ultimately shows Hawthorne’s view on hiding sins and not accepting the …show more content…
when Pearl finally listens to Hester and comes to meet Dimmesdale, he kisses her and she “... broke away from her mother, and, running to the brook, stooped over it, and bathed her forehead, until the unwelcome kiss was quite washed off…” (Hawthorne 191). Due to the fact that Dimmesdale still refuses to stand as a sinner with Pearl and Hester, Pearl does not want him anywhere near her and doesn’t approve of him running away from his sin by trying to leave the town and start over somewhere new. Hawthorne is expanding upon the characterization of Pearl by making her attitude bold and childish when running away from Dimmesdale, mainly because she is acting how a typical child would when they don’t get what they want. In Pearl’s case, she wants Dimmesdale to stop hiding and Hawthorne feels sinner should reveal their sins and live with the guilt in