The Worth of a Pearl

“What in Heaven’s name is she?” (Hawthorne 121). This is what the town often asks when they see Pearl; is she some demonic creation, has she come to Earth to wreak havoc on the small town of Boston? In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl is depicted as something unearthly and monstrous, but she is also depicted as a beautiful being worth that of a Pearl. Pearl, being the result of Hester’s sin, has an oscillating impact on Hester’s being and happiness, wavering from positive to negative. Much of this impact is heavily influenced by the strictly Puritan town in which Hester and Pearl live. However, it’s clear that, for Hester, Pearl is one of the only positive influences in her life, as Pearl stops Hester from sinning further; she protects her from, and lessens, the impact of the community’s hatred; she is her only companion, and therefore, her only inviolable reason to live. 

Although Pearl is made from sin, she stops Hester, time and time again, from sinning. Apart from many of the townspeople’s thoughts ─ who wanted to separate Pearl from Hester in order to forestall one from adulterating the other  ─ Pearl, in fact, kept her mother safe from the Black Man’s reach. For instance, when Hester was invited to gather in the woods with Mistress Hibbins she said no: “I must tarry home, and keep watch over my little Pearl. Had they taken her from me, I would willingly have gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with mine own blood” (Hawthorne 105). Not only does this dialogue from Hester further disprove the town’s claim regarding Pearl’s effect on Heaster, but it also gives evidence to support the idea that Pearl is good for Hester in her journey of penance. Were it not for Pearl, Hester would no longer try to right herself with God and would simply give herself to the Devil. Hester herself also states: “see ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin” (Hawthorne 101). In these lines, Hester refers to Pearl as the embodiment of the scarlet letter, her greatest shame and sin, except with the power to do good and relieve Hester from that shame she experiences. This line alone sums up Pearl and Hester’s relationship; while it’s hard for Hester to live with the result of her sin, she also loves her deeply and is learning and growing from the existence of this being. Furthermore, when Mr. Dimmesdale, the local minister, speaks to the governor on the subject of Pearl and Hester, he describes Pearl by saying, “this boon, was meant, above all things else, to keep the mother’s soul alive, and to preserve her from blacker depths of sin” (Hawthorne 103). Although Mr. Dimmesdale may have some kind of bias towards Hester, he is still a minister and knows the nature of those who sin and their relationship with God. He also observes Hester and Pearl as an outside party and is still able to perceive that Pearl shields Hester from sinning further. His statement further shows that Pearl may be the embodiment of sin, but she is also the protector from deeper sin. 

“Pearl is the embodiment of the scarlet letter, her greatest shame and sin, except with the power to do good…”

The embodiment of sin or the embodiment of the Devil ─ as thought so by many in the town ─ Pearl often acts, rather, with the protection of God when she protects Hester from the hatred the townspeople throw at her. For example, when Hester and Pearl were being spoken harshly about by the nearby Puritan children, Pearl overheard them and reacted in the way a dedicated protector would.  

“Pearl… made a rush at the knot of her enemies, and put them all to flight. She resembled, in her fierce pursuit of them, an infant pestilence  ─ the scarlet fever, or some half-fledged angel of judgment,  ─ whose mission was to punish the sins of the rising generation. She screamed and shouted too… The victory accomplished, Pearl returned quietly to her mother, and looked up smiling into her face.” (Hawthorne 92)

This excerpt shows the ruthlessness Pearl displays; however, the acts are strictly for the sake of her mother. In the end, Pearl returns to Hester’s side with a wide smile, displaying a sense of accomplishment towards her mother and, most likely, expecting her approval for her acts of protection. Also, in the passage, Pearl is referred to as an angel; this is one of the first times the reader sees Pearl being compared to something heavenly rather than infernal, and it is while she’s protecting Hester. The comparison to an angel supports the idea that Pearl acts as a sort of guardian for Hester rather than a being that would condemn her to hell or hostility. She is, essentially, her protector from hatred and also sin. 

Furthermore, however obvious, with Hester being socially exiled, Pearl is her only true companion, and in some ways, her only reason to live. When the narrator describes Hester’s feelings towards the notion that the government might take Pearl away from her, he says, “alone in the world, cast off by it, and with this sole treasure to keep her heart alive, she felt that she possessed indefensible rights against the world, and was ready to defend them to the death” (Hawthorne 101). Pearl is referred to as Hester’s ‘sole treasure;’ this shows that Hester does not care for much else than Pearl, and it goes further to explain that she is the ‘sole’ thing, the only thing, keeping Hester’s heart alive. Pearl, being her treasure, brings Hester her only known happiness, and therefore reason and will to live. Also, when Hester was arguing with the minister and governor to keep Pearl she says, “thou knowest what is in my heart, and what are a mother’s rights, and how much the stronger they are, when that mother has but her child and the scarlet letter” (Hawthorne 102). Hester’s desperation and exclamation in this dialogue shows how much she cares for and cherishes Pearl. Hester’s statement that she has only her child, Pearl, is more reason to the idea that Pearl is her reason to live, and the reason she stays in this world when she could, otherwise, so easily end her shame and guilt. Pearl keeps Hester alive and gives her her only source of companionship and happiness. 

In conclusion, even though Pearl is the embodiment of Hester’s sin, she is one of the only sources of joy and positivity in Hester’s life. She keeps Hester on the path of penance and shields her from sin; she acts as a sort of guardian angel for Hester and protects her from the town’s hatred, and finally she is her soul companion and reason to live. This is why Pearl is good for Hester, rather than a negative being of demonic creation. ‘What in the world is she?’ The town’s comments will be forever thrown at Pearl and Hester; however, we know that in Hester’s world, Pearl is her ‘soul treasure’ and happiness.