Pearl: A Symbol of Evil in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

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Pearl: A Symbol of Evil?

From the first time we hear of Pearl, Hawthorne uses her as a symbol of Hester’s sin. He not only uses her to remind Hester of what she did, but also as what she could never be. He uses many different references in the book pertaining to Hester’s plight, most of which involve Pearl. So is Pearl a symbol of evil?

The very first time Hawthorne uses Pearl as a symbol is when he is talking about the one thing that attracts her attention. “The infants’ eyes had been caught by the glimmering of the gold embroidery about the letter.” (79) The scarlet letter “A” is a beautiful sight to Pearl. I feel like her attraction to it is not just because of its beautiful embroidery, but because of what it means. As an infant she can’t very well know what it means, however, Hawthorne is using it to make Hester aware. As Pearl gets older she makes a letter “A” out of seaweed to adorn on her chest like her mother. This is also reminding Hester of what she did.

When Pearl is three years old they try to take her away from her mother. “God gave me the child!” cried she. “He gave her in requital of all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness! - She is my torture none-the-less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter only capable of being loved and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin?” (94) This is Hester saying that Pearl is her punishment from God for her sin. She’s basically pleading for them not to take her because she deserves this child, this gift, and this punishment all in one.

In an article I read, Michael Cooper says, “Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic symbol - one that is always changing. Alth...

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...ion, this time without Pearl. Pearl is not heard from again. Some people think she got married and is living a happy life with her new family. This helps prove my point that she is not used as a character in the story but as a symbol for evil. After Dimmesdale came forward and cleared his conscience he was able to let go, Hester was then past her punishment, and that was the last we heard of Pearl. Hawthorne no longer needed her as a symbol of evil so he removed her from the story all together.

Work Cited

Hawthorne, Nathanial. The Scarlet Letter. 1850

Baym, Nina. “The Character of Pearl.” Nina Baym, 2004

Web. 12 Mar. 2010 http://eolit.hrw.com/hlla.writersmodel/pdf/W_P110504.pdf

Cooper, Michael. “The Scarlet Letter and Symbolism.” Michael Cooper

Web. 12 Mar. 2010 http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Scarlet-Letter-and-Symbolism&id=78659

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