Scarlet Letter Loss Of Innocence Quotes

Innocence and Identity of the Youth
The naivete of a child is often the most easily subjected to influence, and Pearl of the Scarlet Letter is no exception. Throughout the writing by Nathaniel Hawthorne, she observes as Dimmesdale and the rest of the Puritan society interact with the scarlet letter that Hester, her mother, wears. Hawthorne tries to use Pearl’s youth to teach the reader that sometimes it’s the most harmless characters that are the most impactful overall. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, Pearl has learned the greatest lesson from the scarlet letter through her innocence as a youth and her realization of the identity of both herself and her mother.
While it is obvious that Pearl has learned the most from the scarlet letter, it

There is nothing more pliable than the mind of a child, and because of the world that she lives in, Pearl has been forced into the deeper understanding of what eternally plasters her mother’s chest; this is even in infancy. “One day, as her mother stooped over the cradle, the infant’s eyes had been caught by the glimmering of the gold embroidery about the letter; and, putting up her little hand, she grasped it, smiling not doubtfully, but with a decided gleam that gave her face the look of a much older child” (Hawthorne 79-80). Though it terrifies Hester, the fact that Pearl is able to identify that the letter exists is only the gateway to the growth of her knowledge of it. This comes into effect more prominently in the following years when she finally begins to comprehend the scarlet letter’s importance. Pearl realizes that because her mother wears the letter, people treat her differently. She does not know why or how, but she knows that it is not right. One person in particular who treats Hester differently is Dimmesdale. Though at the time she does not know her father, Pearl understands that the scarlet letter controls his life just as much as it does Hester’s, but he is not treated differently. Even so, her innocence takes over and questions why he does not have the same burden as Hester. A quote on page 127 can support this: “Pearl

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