Duality in The Scarlet Letter

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Duality in The Scarlet Letter

Oscar Wilde, an Irish poet, novelist, and playwright, believed, “What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise” (Think Exist). Wilde’s quotation conveys the idea of duality residing within every situation, person, and object. Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the idea further in his classic novel The Scarlet Letter. In the novel Hawthorne demonstrates duality within the character Pearl and the forest; he suggests an optimistic perspective of the world.

The character Pearl in The Scarlet Letter exhibits duality. Pearl is viewed, by many, as a demon who is born into sin. Her mother, Hester, has an affair with a man outside of her marriage and gives birth to Pearl. Pearl is the physical embodiment of Hester’s sin. The narrator describes her as being an outcast in the world. He declares, “An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants” (Hawthorne 85). The townsfolk believe Pearl does not belong with other children because she is demon born from bitter sin. In the eyes of the Puritan community, Pearl ex...

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