How Is Pearl Reflected In The Scarlet Letter

In his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the storyline of Hester Prynne’s adultery as a means of criticizing the values of Puritan society. Hester and her daughter Pearl, whom she conceives out of wedlock, are ostracized from their community and forced to live in a house away from town. The reflections of Pearl in different mirrored surfaces represent the contrast between the way Puritans view her and who she actually is. In the fancy mirrored armor of the society’s elite class, Pearl is depicted harshly as a devilish and evil spawn, unable to live up to the expectations of such a pristine society. However, in the natural reflections of the earth’s surface, Pearl’s beauty and innocence is much more celebrated. The discrepancies between these positive depictions of Pearl as an angelic figure and the Puritans’ harsh judgment of her character suggest that Puritans inflated her oddities and strange habits in order to place her and Hester in a place of inferiority within the community. Hawthorne employs reflection and mirrors in his novel to convey the Puritans’ misconstrual of Pearl as an elfish, evil child and to critique the severity of early Puritan moral codes.

Pearl’s reflection in Governor Bellingham’s armor

is representative of Puritan society’s exaggerated perception of her as an unholy, elfish being whose demonic presence serves as punishment for Hester’s sins. Hester and Pearl visit Bellingham’s mansion to confront rumors about depriving Hester of custody over Pearl. As they await his arrival, Hawthorne describes Pearl’s reflection in Bellingham’s armor: “That look of naughty merriment was reflected in the mirror, with so much breadth and intensity of effect, that it made Hester Prynne feel as if it could not be the image of her own child, but of an imp who was seeking to mould itself into Pearl’s shape” (100). The armor in which Pearl is reflected is described in a previous passage as so polished that it gleams and “scatters white illumination.” This fine quality of armor is reflective of the high standards to which New England Puritans hold the members of their society and their position as a moral guide for developing American communities. In the armor, Pearl’s impishness is exaggerated; her mischievous disposition is described as reflected with “so much breadth and intensity of effect” that it makes Hester question their biological ties. By skewing Pearl’s reflection to only emphasize her elfish qualities, the mirrored armor symbolizes the community’s magnification of Pearl’s inhuman characteristics as a means of alienating her from their pristine society. The mirror’s emphasis of her “naughty merriment” and disregard of her beauty, one of her most striking external characteristics, confirms Puritan society’s willingness to overlook the child’s goodness in order to place her in this inferior position. Hester reacts to Pearl’s wicked reflection by questioning whether Pearl is her real biological child or just an “imp” taking on her physicality. Her skeptic reaction shows the harshness of Puritan morals; they are so extreme that they have brought her to question the motives of her own daughter and suspect that she might be the demon as which society paints her. Pearl’s image as reflected back in her in the opulent armor of Puritan’s elite aristocracy symbolizes their view of Pearl as the wicked product of an unholy union and a stain on the fabric of their city on a hill.
A pool of water acts as a more accurate mirror of Pearl’s being, reflecting her as a pure and beautiful child untouched by her mother’s sin. When Hester and Pearl go into the woods to meet Dimmesdale, Pearl discovers her reflection in this pool of water in the ground, described as reflecting “a perfect image of her little figure, with all the brilliant picturesqueness of her beauty, in its adornment of flowers and wreathed foliage, but more refined and spiritualized than the reality” (198). The woods in which Pearl and Hester await Dimmesdale’s arrival are very isolated from the center of town and are therefore unaffected by the strict moral code it imposes on its members. Pearl’s mannerisms and hobbies that the Puritan community sees as strange are able to prosper in these woods, where she can run freely without encountering criticism. It is only in a pool of water in this untouched forest that her “perfect image” is reflected, suggesting that the Puritan community has wrongly perceived Pearl as a wicked and demonic being, and only outside the realm of their judgment is her true character evident. In the more accurate reflection of the pool, Pearl is adorned with a halo of flowers, transforming her from elfish into an angelic, beautiful figure. This natural reflection of Pearl’s already striking beauty is described as “spiritualized,” making Pearl out to be even more picturesque than she is in reality. The description of nature’s glorified depiction of Pearl as breathtakingly beautiful and innocent as “perfect” acts as a criticism of Puritan society’s harsh alienation and judgment of her character.
Pools of water do not only reflect Pearl’s beauty and spirit, but also act as source of companionship and comfort as she and Hester remain ostracized by the Puritan community. Hester takes Pearl to the beach and allows Pearl to play in the tide pools. Pearl uses the pools as a mirror, but instead of seeing her own reflection she sees “the image of a little maid whom Pearl, having no other playmate, invited to take her hand” (xx). In the mansion of the elite Puritan governor, mirrors reflect Pearl’s alienation from society. They emphasize her inhuman, demonic traits and consequent incompatibility with high level Puritan morality. However, instead of isolating her because of her “impish” behavior and sinful conception, the natural pools of water give Pearl a “playmate” and a source of comfort. Outside the breadth of Puritan influence, in areas like the beach, Pearl is no longer viewed contempt and forced to live with only the companionship of her mother. She is not defined by her mother’s sin and the public shame that comes with it, but instead she is greeted with acceptance and friendship, in the form of this playmate. Even the playmate is aware of the unfair treatment Pearl withstands in the Puritan community, beckoning her to join the pool, as it is a “better place.” Natural reflections, which recognize the true beauty of Pearl’s character, expose Puritans’ skewed perception of Pearl as a devil child and their unrealistically high expectations for members of their society.
In order to create a reputation as the city on a hill, Bostonian Puritans enforce strict moral and religious norms by which all members of their community abide.

If somebody, like Hester Prynne, does not enforce these moral codes, he or she is used as an example of a sinner for future generations and is banned to the outskirts of town. Hawthorne uses the symbol of mirrors and reflection to emphasize these extreme Puritan values and examine their effect on Hester’s daughter. The contrast between her reflection in the mirrors of Puritan elites and that in the natural mirrored surface of water, untouched by religion or morals, is symbolic of Puritan’s vilification of those who do not conform to their high standards and city on a hill

mentality.