Throughout the novel, Pearl can be seen as a joy in her mother’s life, but this is a false joy as it is always accompanied by pain and mockery. In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl is born due to the sin of adultery that Hester, Pearl’s mother, committed with Dimmesdale, a minister of the town. Dimmesdale is left to fight his sin in privacy, but Hester must deal with it publicly by wearing the scarlet letter and bearing the child of their union. As if this is not enough for Hester to go through, Pearl makes it harder as she is a fiendish punishment, becoming a destructive force in Hester’s life and never letting Hester forget her transgression. Pearl does this by constantly mocking Hester’s scarlet letter, being an obligation to Hester, and by not letting Hester be happy.
Whenever Hester seems to forget about her transgression, she is reminded of it by the mockery from Pearl. This can be seen when Hester and Pearl are in the Governor’s Hall. Catching Hester off guard, Pearl puts the pain of Hester’s transgression in Hester’s mind by pointing out her mother in a mirror: “She [Hester] saw that, owing to the peculiar effect of this convex mirror, the scarlet letter was represented in exaggerated and gigantic proportions, so as to be greatly the most prominent feature of her appearance. In truth, she seemed absolutely hidden behind it” (Hawthorne 95). Pearl finds joy in pointing this fact out to Hester and mocks Hester for it. Pearl is so evil and cruel to her mother in this moment, that Hester wonders if Pearl is an imp instead of her child. Through the actions of Pearl, Hester went from not thinking of her sin, to being tortured by it as the letter is depicted to Hester as her prominent feature. Pearl can also be seen mocking and hurting her mother when she makes and wears her own scarlet letter: “As the last touch of her [Pearl] mermaid’s garb, Pearl took some eel-grass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother’s. A letter,-the letter A,- but freshly green, instead of scarlet… as if the one thing for which she had been sent into the world was to make out its hidden import” (Hawthorne 162). Unlike Hester’s scarlet letter, Pearl’s letter has no meaning, but, instead, is only created from the curiosity of Pearl. This causes the scarlet letter to be one of Pearl’s main focuses in life, and thus becomes apart of Hester’s life through the constant bantering of Pearl. Once Pearl is done with making the scarlet letter, she goes to see her mother. “… [Pearl] appeared before Hester Prynne, dancing, laughing, and pointing her finger to the ornament upon her bosom” (Hawthorne 162). This action hurts Hester as it presents the letter as being meaningless and even a joy in life, the complete opposite of its true intentions. In this way of presenting the letter as something it is not, it deepens the real feeling of pain and transgression in Hester’s soul. Also, as seen before, Pearl takes a peaceful moment in Hester’s life and turns it into a moment of transgression that would not have been present if Pearl were not around. By mocking Hester’s scarlet letter, Pearl hurts her mother emotionally and keeps Hester’s sin fresh in her mind and soul at all times.
Although Pearl can clearly be seen acting as a punishment to her mother, many argue that Pearl is actually a joy in Hester’s life. This is mostly seen when Hester is asked if she will go do evil and devilish acts in the woods by Mistress Hibbins. Hester responds with a firm no and explains, “ I must tarry at home, and keep watch over my little Pearl” (Hawthorne 105). For some, this is evidence that Pearl brings joy to her mother’s life. The only reason Pearl did not slip from God’s wishes was because of the joy that Pearl inflicted on her. Without Pearl, Hester would leave the side of God as she has nothing left to bring happiness in her life. This view, however, is wrong. Pearl does not bring joy to Hester’s life, but rather a sense of obligation. Pearl was born from the sin of Hester, making Hester feel obligated to help Pearl break free from this sin. Taking this view into account, Pearl does not keep Hetser from the woods because of the the joy she gives, but keeps Hester from the woods because of Hester’s feeling of obligation to Pearl. This can also be seen when Hester teaches Pearl the Bible and dresses Pearl in elegant clothing throughout the novel. By teaching Pearl the Bible, Hester is educating Pearl on the expectations of God so that Pearl will not repeat the same mistakes as Hester did, allowing Pearl to become holy and free from Hester’s sin. Also, by dressing Pearl elegantly, Hester is trying to represent Pearl as a positive and respected person in the town and separated from the sin of her mother who is wearing more sombre clothing. The feeling of obligation created from Pearl is destructive to Hester as it keeps her focus on Pearl and not on improving her own life. It also brings torture to Hester’s life, as by keeping Pearl close, due to a sense of obligation, Pearl is allowed to mock Hester’s sin and keep Hester from forgetting her transgression.
Pearl continues her fiendish deeds by not letting her mother be happy. Since the appointment of the scarlet letter, Hester has felt no happiness in her life. When Hester finally does find this happiness, Pearl puts an immediate stop to it and reminds Hester of the sin that she had almost escaped. When Hester plans her escape with Dimmesdale, she removes her scarlet letter as it will not be needed in her new life. Pearl soon comes back to find her mother with her hair down, no scarlet letter, and happy; Pearl will not move any closer to her: “She [Hester] had flung it [scarlet letter] into infinite space!-she had drawn an hour’s free breath!-and here again was the scarlet misery, glittering on the old spot!… Hester next gathered up the heavy tresses of her hair, and confined them beneath her cap… Her beauty, the warmth and richness of her womanhood, departed… ” (Hawthorne 194). Hester had just broken free from her world of sin when Pearl became her fiendish self. This made Hester lose the happiness in her life as she was reminded of her transgression by Pearl. Pearl held her mother back and kept her from progressing in her life. Pearl is selfish and only considers her own life and does not consider how her actions will affect her mother. Hester was once again tortured and destroyed as she had see what freedom and happiness would look like, but was not quite able to maintain it due to the presence of Pearl.
The constant pain and mockery presented by Pearl keeps Hester from finding Pearl as a source of joy. Pearl constantly reminds Hester of her transgression and mocks her for it, is an obligation for Hester, and does not let Hester find happiness. Although Pearl is a fiendish punishment with her actions, it is not all in her control. Pearl is young and does not understand the implications that her actions have on her mother. If Pearl was wiser on the matter, then she may have understood the pain of her mother and changed her actions, becoming a joy rather than a punishment. However, Pearl did not gain this knowledge in her childhood and her mother suffered and was tortured by it.