Pearl Prynne, Avenger

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Recommended: Psychological exploration of the characters of The Scarlet Letter

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.

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