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Psychological exploration of the characters of The Scarlet Letter
Psychological exploration of the characters of The Scarlet Letter
Symbolism in the novel the scarlet letter by nathaniel hawthorne
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Those who read “The Scarlet Letter” perceive Pearl as she who personifies her mother’s sinful extramarital affair. After all, Hester adorns her in the same manner as the infamous letter. Yet, near the end of the book Hawthorne revealed, through Reverend Dimmesdale’s final moments, another reason behind his characterization of Pearl: “Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part, had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father's cheek, they were the pledge that she would grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor forever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it. Towards her mother, too, Pearl's errand as a messenger of anguish was all fulfilled.” (Hawthorne 281) That is to say, that preternatural fire Pearl has embodied since birth, fueled by shame and secrecy, has finally burned out owing to its lack of fresh fuel. This paragraph is essential to casting light upon Pearl’s other function within the novel. Reconsidering Pearl’s previous interactions with her parents, she also functions as judgment for their Puritanical, dogmatic secrecy concerning the other half of her origins. Considering Pearl’s relationship with her father before his admission, there is much denial and avoidance on Dimmesdale’s part that causes Pearl to lash out at him in kind. For instance, when the self-abasing man beseeches Hester and Pearl to stand with him upon the scaffold, he lamentingly tells them, “Ye have both been here before, but I was not with you. Come up hither once again, and we will stand all three together!” (Hawthorne 167). The minister desperately wants to atone for his craven abandonment of those who would be family, but he’s too afraid of the pu... ... middle of paper ... ...t?’” Hester wants to know if her daughter could ever come to love and accept her estranged father, but the girl replies with a question of her own, “‘And will he always keep his hand over his heart?’ inquired Pearl.” Pearl is wondering if the minister will always keep the past hidden from any outside their little group, will he always be ashamed of his actions and their results? To add another slight to the pile weighing down upon Dimmesdale, Pearl necessitates that physical coercion be used to bring her to the minister’s side. When he hesitantly presses a kiss to her forehead, “Pearl 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 237). Pearl is still communicating to her parents that she will show them no true acceptance until they too show her the same.
As the book progresses, the reader will observe the development of Pearl’s psyche while witnessing the deterioration
Dimmesdale could not have been in love with Hester, due to the fact he was unwilling to bear the shame of iniquity. After many years of remaining in secrecy, the minister still refused to claim the mother and child publicly. On the night of Governor Winthrop’s death, Hester and Pearl found Dimmesdale upon the scaffold where he once again denied his family, promising he would, “stand with thy mother and thee one day”, to little Pearl (Hawthorne 127). Over the course of seven years, Dimmesdale had countless opportunities to claim his sin, beginning with the first day Hester was convicted. During his few encounters with Hester over the next seven years, the ordinate continued to say he would one day be with her and expose his debauchery. However, Arthur Dimmesdale only ever spoke such promises, and never acted upon his word until the moment before his death, leaving no time to father Pearl and be a husband to Hester. If Dimmesdale had truly loved Hester, he would have disposed his identity as an adulterer on the initial day of Hester’s castigation and aided in the raising of Pearl. The minister acted out of lust and did not love Hester, which caused the loathing himself for the act of infidelity. His only method to cope without disposing his depravity to the congregation was illustrated by actions of penance, which
Pearl has spent her entire life knowing who her mother is and identifies her with and only with the letter on. “Pearl’s image, crowned, and girdled with flowers, but stamping its foot, wildly gesticulating, and in the midst of all, still pointing its small forefinger at Hester’s bosom!” (Hawthorne 173). In this scene, Hester takes the letter off when she is with Dimmesdale, and Pearl refuses to come near her until she puts the letter back on; she recognizes that the letter is a part of who her mother is. The identity of herself is also uncovered as a result of the letter. Pearl sees how the Puritan society treats her mother and refuses to act likewise. Not only does she stand up to those who judge Hester, but she also practices being kind instead. “Pearl was almost sure, [the bird] had been hit by a pebble and fluttered away with a broken wing. But then the elf-child sighed, and gave up her sport; because it grieved her to have done harm to a little being that was as wild as the sea-breeze, or as wild as Pearl herself” (Hawthorne 147). Pearl cares for the wellbeing of those around her, both human and animal. This has shaped who she is through her kindness and her intelligence; it becomes what her identity is and displays how she identifies her mother, verifying that she was impacted the most by the scarlet
Not only in this story of the Scarlet Letter, but throughout the early churches, we often see religious leaders in this predicament of coming forward or not coming forward with the truth of their role within certain situations. Hester, on the other hand, is portrayed as strong but also abandoned, because she is standing alone for the sins she could not have committed alone. Dimmesdale also struggles with confessing to Pearl the truth and keeping it from her. At first he is regarded as being selfish for not confessing right away and as a result, when he does confess, it is not well received from Pearl at all. This is not only because she is flustered from finding out, but Pearl knows that Dimmesdale abandoned them at first as he weighed the options.
From the moment she is born in the cold, heartless prison, Pearl is placed under scrutiny. The townspeople see her as a visible reminder of sin, and it isn't long until even her own mother searches for evil in her. The girl is described as "the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life!"(Hawthorne 103). With her fascination from an early age with the scarlet letter, Hester believes that Pearl's very reason for existence is to torment her mother. Hester fails to realize that the letter is just something bright and significant to which Pearl reacts; instead, she sees every glance, every word aimed at the letter, every touch of Pearl's tiny fingers to her bosom as an added torture resulting from her adultery. Hester, considering Pearl's very existence, goes so far as to question if the impish child is even her own. "Thou art not my child! Thou art no Pearl of mine!"(Hawthorne 99) she tells Pearl, only half-jokingly. In her own way, she wonders whether Pearl was sent to her by God or by a demon wishing to cause her pain. She is not alone in this speculation; many of the town's citizens believe there is something of the Devil in Pearl.
Pearl displays her kindness towards others despite being placed in a situation where her life could be subjected to change. During the scene where Pearl flings wildflowers at her mother, she dances around the garden every time she hits the scarlet letter, exhibiting that she was having a good time. Pearls mother asked whose child Pearl was, and was given a response filled with joy and compassion. Hawthorne describes Pearl’s response as saying “Oh, I am your little Pearl!”(Hawthorne 89) Pearls response means that Pearl is Hester's child, and Hester's child only. Her response, and creation of a game that was originally made to be a punishment displays not only her compassion for her mother, but also her utilization of her imagination to make the most out of an unfortunate situation. Perhaps the most painful example of Pearl’s compassion comes through a passage which Hawthorne writes about the conversation between Dimmesdale and Pearl writing “But wilt thou promise to take take my hand and my mother's hand, to-morrow noontide,” and
Dimmesdale, the “father” in this family shies away from his patriarchal duties and stands by while he lets Hester do all of the work regarding Pearl. First of all, Dimmesdale is absent for the majority of Pearl’s life. He is present in the town but hardly ever sees Pearl, even though she is his daughter. He says that Pearl has, only “twice in her little lifetime” shown kindness to him(Hawthorne Ch.19). Out of seven entire years, Dimmesdale and Pearl have shared only two meaningful moments together. Dimmesdale has obviously shied away from his duties as a father to Pearl. Even though she is illegitimate, it is his responsibility to help raise her. He also does not deal with Pearl directly when she is acting like a crazed animal. He implores Hester to calm her, telling Hester to “pacify her,” through any means to show him “if thou lovest me!”(Hawthorne Ch. 19). Hawthorne uses specific images through the words of his characters to show how much Dimmesdale is shying away from his responsibilities as a father. As a father, Dimmesdale should be raising his child to become a contributing member of the Puritan society in Massachusetts. Instead of doing this, Dimmesd...
This, as Arthur Dimmesdale almost prophetically expresses in the early scenes of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, was the role of Pearl, the elfish child borne of his and Hester Prynne's guilty passion. Like Paul's thorn in the flesh, Pearl would bring trouble, heartache, and frustration to Hester, but serve a constructive purpose lying far beyond the daily provocations of her childish impishness. While in many respects a tormentor to Hester, Pearl was also her savior, while a reminder of her guilt, a promoter of honesty and true Virtue; and while an embodiment of Hester's worst qualities, a vision of a better life for Hester and for herself.
Pearl is reluctant to approach Dimmesdale, and she throws a fit when she sees her mother’s scarlet letter on the ground along with her hair down. Pearl has assumed the role of a living scarlet letter, so when she sees the letter on the ground she sees herself being disregarded by her own mother. Hawthorne’s purpose of this chapter is simple, he wants the reader to understand what is happening through Pearl’s perspective. For her or for any child, change is hard, and Hawthorne clearly demonstrates this idea throughout this
Pearl had a great role in the scarlet letter. Her differences from the other Puritan children showed the reader the effect Pearls life had on her personality. Pearl was seen as the Devil’s child or a child from sin. Pearl proved to be quite the opposite, although she wasn't quite a human character but more of a symbol she added a touch of love and beauty to a story filled with hate and pain. Pearl really was the ray of sunshine in this world. Though she came from something seen as a sin she was truly a blessing. She helped her mom through her times of grief and she brought Dimmesdale out of hiding. In the end she was the only pure and true individual. Pearl was an amazing child who gave this story light.
The Forgiveness Room scenes provide the audience with insight on how being ignorant is blissful to Pearl. Although Pearl was scared of what was happening to her in the Forgiveness Room, she says, “…I feel such relief that I won’t have those feelings anymore,” because Papa S forced her to understand that she was wicked for having feelings for Ellis (pg. 89-93). After Ellis informs her about how Papa S abuses their fear of Mother Nature’s punishments, Pearl is faced with how she thought it would be better if she did not know the truth behind the Forgiveness Room (pg. 282-284). Ellis demonstrated how the Forgiveness Room worked and explained to Pearl, “Nature wasn’t crushing you, it was Papa S...he wants to control you. And if you’re frightened, you’ll do whatever he tells you…” (pg. 284). Pearl is empowered by this knowledge and less naïve because she understands how Papa S used fear to control
Pearl is questioning whether Arthur (her father) loves them or not. She wants to look up to him as father figure and have him in her life, living with them as a family.
Hawthorne uses Pearl to work on the consciences of both her mother Hester and her father Arthur Dimmesdale. He uses her to work on Hester’s conscience throughout the novel by little comments made or actions taken by Pearl that appear to be mean or spiteful towards her mother. For example, Pearl laughs and points at her mother’s scarlet letter as if making fun of it or to make Hester feel bad about it. Hawthorne also uses Pearl’s perceptiveness to point out very straight forwardly, her mother’s sin of adultery. Pearl has almost a supernatural sense, that comes from her youth and freewill for seeing things as they really are and pointing them out to her mother. Pearl is a living version of her mother's scarlet letter. She is the consequence of sin and an everyday reminder to her through her actions and being.
Initially Pearl is the symbol of Hesters public punishment for her adultery. As the novel progresses and Pearl matures she symbolizes the deteriation of Hester's like by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter "A". Pearl in a sense wants her mother to live up to her sin and, she achieves this by constantly asking her about the scarlet letter. Another peice of evidence that shows how Pearl symbolizes the sin Hester has committed, is when the town government wants to take Pearl away from her Revrend Dimmsdale convinces the government that Pearl is a living reminder of her sin. This is essentialy true, Hester without Pearl is like having Hester without sin.
Hawthorne uses vivid descriptions to characterize Pearl. She is first described as the infant, "...whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion." (Hawthorne 81). From the beginning of her life she is viewed as the product of a sin, as a punishment. Physically, she has a "beauty that became every day more brilliant, and the intelligence that threw its quivering sunshine over the tiny features of this child." (Hawthorne 81,82). Pearl is ravishing, with "beauty that shone with deep and vivid tints' a bright complexion, eyes possessing intensity both of depth and glow, and hair already of a deep, glossy brown, and which, in after years, would be nearly akin to black." Combining with her extreme beauty, are the lavish dresses that she wears. The exquisite dresses and her beauty cause her to be viewed as even stranger from the other typical Puritan children, whom are dressed in traditional clothing. As a result, she is accepted by nature and animals, and ostracized by the other Puritan children. "Pearl was a born outcast of the infantile world... the whole peculiarity, in short, of her position in respect to other children." (Hawthorne 86). The children did not accept Pearl, her unavoidable seclusion was due to the ...