Pearl Essay – “Hester’s most valuable treasure born of sin”

Illegitimate children are either all good or all bad. Pearl is the illegitimate daughter of Hester Prynne, and therefore, the reincarnation and representation of her sin. Is she considered the evil of an inevitable good for our protagonist? In the novel The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne the story of Hester Prynne is set in the 17th century in the era of the Puritans in New England. The protagonist of the narrative, Hester Prynne, has committed adultery, and in the eyes of society has committed a terrible sin, for which she must wear a scarlet letter “A” for the rest of her life, which refers to adultery. Her illegitimate daughter, Pearl, her great treasure, has been the product of this sin, and not only represents “sin” but also the vital spirit and passion that that sin engendered. Because Pearl is a very intelligent girl, and she is unique. She breaks all the stereotypes of the time, and makes herself heard by society. However, all of these characteristics have brought Hester both bad and good consequences. So, what does Pearl really mean regarding Hester? Is it her salvation or her undoing?

After a long analysis of this problem, a result has been reached. Regardless of the cons that Pearl brings throughout the narrative, it is clear that the positive points regarding Pearl and her mother Hester outweigh the negative points of the novel. Because Pearl is the constant reminder of Hester’s sin; this factor helps Hester lean toward redemption and sin no more than she has already done. Furthermore, Pearl symbolizes the embodiment of her parents’ passion. Likewise, Pearl is as if she were Hester’s shield and salvation against the Puritan society of the time and especially Chillingworth himself. The most important point is that Pearl is Hester’s only companion, and therefore she is the greatest treasure, but rather the only treasure that Hester has.

First of all, we can see that Pearl is a constant reminder of the sin committed by Hester, not only because she is the symbol of sin, but also because it is Pearl herself who emphasizes the letter “A” in various parts of the story. For example, the first time she paid attention to when she was a newborn, it was the letter “A” that Hester wore on her chest as a sinner’s mark. The narrator observes, “By no means! But that first object of which Pearl seemed to become aware was —Shall we say it? — the scarlet letter on Hester´s bosom!” (Hawthorne 66). The narrator describes in great detail that the first thing Pearl noticed was the letter of the sin committed by Hester. As a result, we can see the direct relationship that exists between the representation of sin as a simple scarlet letter, and at the same time as the reincarnation of said sin through Pearl. The fact that Pearl first looked at the letter, gives us the reference that there is a connection between both representations of sin and immediately we as readers, we realize that Hester has not only been marked as a sinner with the letter “A”, but that also with the event of having conceived Pearl. Moreover, the statement that is presented above that Pearl herself as a person is a symbol, is the personification and reincarnation of sin and of Hester’s passion for her lover, can be seen in the observations, “It appalled her, nevertheless, to discern here, again, a shadowy reflection of the evil that had existed in herself. All this enmity and passion had Pearl inherited, by inalienable right, out of Hester´s heart.” (65). As in unbreakable love, it arises from that deep passion, Pearl, Hester’s unbreakable shield.

Pearl is like Hester’s shield, regardless of being the representation of her sin. When both Pearl and Hester, are on the way to the governor’s house, some Puritan children begin to have negative attitudes towards both, and it is Pearl who scares the courage and goes out to defend not only herself, but also her beloved mother. The narrator describes, “Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter … But Pearl, who was a dauntless child, after frowning, stamping her foot, and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures, suddenly made a rush at the knot of her enemies, and put them all to fight.” (Hawthorne 70). In the first part of the citation, it is written “Behold, indeed, is the woman with the scarlet letter”, a comment said by the Puritan children as a sign that Hester has been marked by tenderness, and unfortunately it is constantly repressed by the Puritan society. The second part of the quotation shows the courage that little Pearl had, at only three years of age, in defending herself and her mother. It is curious to see that Pearl alone has pounced on her knot of her enemies and set them to fight. This fact is an incredible representation that while Hester is a symbol of frailty, Pearl has become a shield for her beautiful mother. Regardless of Pearl being the representation of the sin committed for Hester, and therefore, is in a way the “culprit” that Hester is repressed and crossed out by Puritan society, Pearl defends her at all costs and ends up being the love she has for her mother, which is why she defends her and acts as her shield.

Pearl can also be seen like her mother’s shield in Puritan society, in chapter 8, when Hester and Pearl leave the governor’s house. The governor’s sister invites Hester to go into the woods at night to have an encounter with Satan (represented as the Black Man). Here Pearl is depicted as a saving mechanism for Hester, as Hester gives the excuse of not going to the forest, because he must stay home taking care of little Pearl from him: “’Wilt thou go with us to-night? There will be a merry company in the forest; and I well-nigh promised the Black Man that comely Hester Prynne should make one…’ ‘I must tarry at home, and keep watch over my little Pearl. ‘” (79). In short, the language used in this summons shows without a doubt that Hester has been able to come out of this uncomfortable and mocking situation unscathed, thanks to the excuse that she is the one who should take care of her daughter, Pearl, and that therefore she cannot attend that mysterious meeting with Satan in the forest. The narrator uses the words “tarry”, indicating that it is of the utmost importance that Hester stays home so she can take care of her three-year-old little girl, who is eager to see her beloved mother, being the only one waiting for her at home.

Hester’s only companion is Pearl and that even under sin, Hester was able to conceive Pearl with divine motherhood. Hester was alone and under the rejection of society, and submerged in sin; however, God blessed her with a beautiful companion, Pearl, who would accompany her for the rest of her life: “God as direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished, had given her a lovely child, whose place was on the same dishonored bosom, to connect her parent forever with the race and descent of mortals, and to be finally a blessed soul in heaven!” (62). Here we can observe that the narrator says, ‘as direct consequence of the sin which man thus punished’, obviously referring to the great sinner of history, Hester Prynne; and then he continues the summons by saying ‘to be finally a blessed soul in heaven!’, referring to the blessing of divine motherhood, even after being conceived under illegitimacy, and therefore under sin. These fragments definitively confirm that Pearl has arrived as Hester’s companion and has caused the protagonist not to feel alone fighting against the rejection of the Puritans, and therefore she is being accompanied throughout the hell that she is living.

Besides Pearl has become Hester’s only companion, Pearl has become her mother’s greatest treasure, if not her only treasure. We can observe this in the descriptive way that the narrator gives when he says that the clouds of sadness have been lowered by the illumination of the girl in the following: “Cloud-shapes of gloom and despondency that had brooded in her heart. They were now illuminated by the morning radiance of a young child’s disposition…” (63). As a result, we can see that Pearl has come to give birth in the gloom that followed Hester to be able to pursue her happiness. To finish confirming and putting the cherry on the cake, we have this following quote, where the author takes the time to give a divine phrase regarding the beautiful name that Hester has given her daughter, thus showing the great affection that Hester has her beloved daughter: “But she named the infant” Pearl “, as being of great price — purchased with all she had — her mother’s only treasure!” (63). This beautiful phrase closes our analysis with a flourish. The fact that Hester has decided to name her daughter ‘Pearl’ ‘as being of great price’, as the quote above indicates, makes us confirm that regardless of whether the reincarnation of sin is represented in her beloved daughter Pearl, Hester has no doubt that he will love her unconditionally no matter the situation. Pearl is not only the representation of sin and the devil as the Puritans see it, but she is also the beautiful representation of the love and passion that exists between Hester her beloved Dimmesdale. From the moment the author describes in detail the beauty that Pearl has, to the smallest detail of the meaning of her name. Hester undoubtedly loves her daughter more than anything in the underworld, and she is his greatest treasure! She is blessed with divine motherhood, and despite her being in sin and illegitimacy, Pearl is still a miracle and a gift from God; therefore, she is the greatest treasure that Hester Prynne could imagine having!

As a conclusion, beyond the fact that Pearl is the representation of Hester’s sin, and that because of her, Hester is rejected by society, Pearl has acted as a shield, a mechanism of salvation, a companion, a treasure, and most importantly, the representation of passion and the miracle of love and therefore of the blessing of divine motherhood. “Being a mother is not measured by what you leave behind by having a baby, but by what you earn by doing it.” And that is exactly what Hester Prynne is doing by leaving any worries behind, turning the page on her mistakes, and now all she concentrates on and cares about is her priceless treasure, her beautiful daughter Pearl!