Is Pearl a Curse or a Blessing?

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne focuses on Hester Prynne, who wears the scarlet letter on her breast, representing her sin. She had a child after committing adultery. Hester named her child Pearl. Some would say that Pearl was ruining Hester’s life, that she was affecting her so much, emotionally and socially, she couldn’t have been anything good for her mother. Others would say the opposite, Pearl is the only thing Hester has left, she couldn’t possibly be something bad for her mother, despite constantly reminding her of her sin. In fact, Pearl is both a blessing and a curse for her mother. Hester’s biggest and only treasure is Pearl. She is what keeps Hester going every day and keeps her from sinning, but Pearl also hurts her mother; she is a constant reminder of her sin, of how she has to live with that for the rest of her life, and it’s like Pearl knows that. The Puritans say Pearl is an imp, even Hester questions if her daughter is human, and Pearl’s behavior just gives the townspeople more reason to believe that. 

When Pearl was born, Hester had a new reason to live, to not give up on her life. She was a mother now, she had the responsibility to take care of her child. God had blessed her with Pearl and she had come with a great price: “But she named the infant ‘Pearl,’ as being of great price, –purchased with all she had,–her mother’s only treasure! How strange, indeed! Man had marked this woman’s sin by a scarlet letter, which had such potent and disastrous efficacy that no human sympathy could reach her, save it were sinful like herself” (Hawthorne 80). Pearl saved Hester, after all Hester had been through no one could help her, no one could save her, not after her sin, not after the ignominy she had to go through, that she still went through. Pearl was her only treasure. She was born from sin, a sin that ruined Hester’s life, a sin that marked Hester for the rest of her days. Pearl was of great price because of that, the price Hester had to pay for her sin. She was rewarded with Pearl. Pearl kept Hester in God’s path, as a constant reminder of what she had done, Hester would avoid sinning again. 

Hester wouldn’t sin anymore, but her daughter was like a being that came from hell, an imp in the Puritan’s society’s eyes. As a result of Hester’s sin, Pearl would always bring her pain, constantly pointing at the scarlet letter in Hester’s chest: “‘Mother,’ cried she, ‘I see you here. Look! Look!’ Hester looked, by way of humoring the child; and she 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. Pearl pointed upward, also, at a similar picture in the head-piece; smiling at her mother, with the elfish intelligence that was so familiar an expression on her small physiognomy” (Hawthorne 95). Hester’s sin brought her so much pain, it was the only thing she was seen for, the only thing she was seen as. Hester’s sin represented her. The community used Hester as the embodiment of sin. Everyone pointed at her when she passed because of the letter that rested on her breast. It was as if she was just the background to her letter, her sin. Pearl would often point at it. She knew what it did to her mother, and she would still point it out, Pearl even decorated the letter with things she would find, like moss, weeds, and plants. She enjoyed tormenting Hester using the letter. Pearl cursed Hester as she was the product of her sin, she torments her about it, smiling when she sees her mother’s expression of pain, she brought Hester so much trouble and pain, with others and herself. 

Pearl’s behavior and attitude brought trouble to Hester, but it also protected her. Pearl would defend her from others but she also would do so many things that affected Hester negatively. The Puritan children, if it weren’t for Pearl, they would have bullied Hester and bring her more ignominy than she already had: “‘Behold, verily, there is the woman of the scarlet letter; and, of a truth, moreover, there is the likeness of the scarlet letter running along by her side! Come, therefore, and let us fling mud at them!’ 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 flight” (Hawthorne 92). Pearl defended Hester from others, children or adults, she defended her mother with all she had. She protected her and made sure she was safe. Without Pearl, Hester would’ve probably suffered worse after the sin than she committed. In a way, Pearl was Hester’s savior. But even saviors have flaws that can affect others, and Pearl had many of them. An example could be when Hester was about to lose Pearl, the only thing Pearl had to do was answer correctly, she knew the answer to the Minister’s question and still she got it wrong on purpose:

Canst thou tell me, my child, who made thee?” Now Pearl knew well enough who made her; for Hester Prynne, the daughter of a pious home, very soon after her talk with the child about her Heavenly Father, had begun to inform her of those truths which the human spirit, at whatever stage of immaturity, imbibes with such eager interest… But that perversity, which all children have more or less of, and of which little Pearl had a tenfold portion, now, at the most inopportune moment, took thorough possession of her, and closed her lips, or impelled her to speak words amiss. After putting her finger in her mouth, with many ungracious refusals to answer good Mr. Wilson’s question, the child finally announced that she had not been made at all, but had been plucked by her mother off the bush of wild roses, that grew by the prison-door. (Hawthorne 100)

Even if Pearl knew the answer to the question, even if she understood that her mother would get in trouble if she answered wrong, even if they would take her away from Hester, she still did whatever she wanted and answered as she saw fit. As much as Pearl helps her mother, she also gets her in trouble. She is too smart, some could even say she figured out who her father was at the age of three. Her attitude towards Dimmesdale could give away that he is the father, the other sinner. Pearl is affectionate towards him, like a daughter with her parent would be. It would bring trouble, to both Dimmesdale and Hester, if someone were to find out that the Minister was Pearl’s father, but she still does what she wants, not caring about the consequences. 

In conclusion, Pearl is both good and bad for her mother; she has helped Hester so much, but she has also brought her so much pain and trouble. She is an intelligent child who does whatever she pleases. Pearl is an important and vital part of Hester’s life, she has kept her from sinning, protects her, and gives her a reason to keep going, but to pay the price of that, Hester also has to deal with the pain her child brings her. Not everything is black and white, there are greys in between that can make a big difference. No one is purely good or completely evil, and Pearl isn’t either, because, after all, Hester wouldn’t survive without her. Even if she’s a result of a sin that brings Hester so much pain, even if she is an imp and likes to see others in pain, even if she brings her mother trouble, Hester still needs her.