Sin and Punishment in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter

In the novel The Scarlet Letter the predominant themes are sin and punishment. The opening scene showed Hester Prynne standing on a scaffold, clutching her baby, and displaying the scarlet letter A on her chest. Hester committed the sin of adultery, and her daughter Pearl is a product of that sin. Pearl is a living, physical representation of the crime that Hester committed. Hawthorne uses Pearl as one of the most essential characters for relaying themes in the novel. In the beginning she symbolizes the sin of her mother, as she grows she represents the honesty that the adults lack, and in the closing scene she symbolizes redemption.

Pearl is first introduced in the novel as the infant Hester is clutching to her breast. Hester wears the scarlet letter and holds the baby, both the punishment for her adultery. Even as an infant Pearl is aware of the scarlet letter that her mother wears. She constantly reaches for it, almost in admiration. Pearl sees the letter as something that is a part of her mother. To her the letter is something that is completely normal, unaware of the fact that it’s the reason they are banished from the town. Pearl says, "It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!...Will it not come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?"(126). Pearls fascination concerns Hester because Pearl too is a reason that they are not welcome in the town.

Pearl’s physical appearance and behavior also represents the sin of adultery. By the age of 3 she is described as "a rich and luxuriant beauty; a 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 t...

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... confessed to the town then Pearl might have been cursed forever and become a witch. When he came clean and revealed the secret, Pearl was cleansed of the sin that she previously symbolized.

Pearl’s character functions as a representation of sin, honesty, and in the end redemption. Her character is extremely complex because her symbolism changes throughout the novel. Her development shows the progression of various themes. Pearl introduces themes of sin, acknowledgment of those sins, and finally acceptance of those sins. Hawthorne introduces her as merely a symbol, but then transforms her into a human of flesh and blood. Pearl’s character is one of the most important characters in because of her complex symbolism and the various functions she provides in the novel.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. Print.