Pearl

Shine Pearl Shine

Hester Prynne, the most shamed woman in all of Boston in The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, has committed a sin that shall belong to her for the rest of her existence.  If it isn’t enough of a reminder to her and everyone of the town that she wears the letter “A” upon her bosom for adultery, the result of her sin, her little Pearl, follows her around wherever they may go.  The people of Boston see Pearl as an inhuman creature, a witch, and an elf child, but Hester learns to love Pearl and gains a lot of knowledge about herself from the responsibility she has taken since the birth of her first child.  Pearl is the reason Hester knows so well the qualities Hester embodies whether good or bad, and she allows Hester to make amends with her sin, aside from the bad Pearl is the reason that Hester has realized the absence of love in her life.

The people of Boston view Pearl as the replica of her sinful guilty mother, and the influence Hester leaves on Pearl is seen as a bad one by the people of the town.  Though at points the public aren’t the only people who think this.  Hester has these moments of doubting the innocence of her existence, and the bad influence she may have on little Pearl.  The narrator writes, “she could recognize her [Hester’s] wild, desperate, defiant mood, the flightiness of her temper, and even some of the very cloud-shapes of gloom and despondency that broaden her heart.  They were now illuminated by the morning radiance of a young child’s disposition” (Hawthorne 62).  Readers now know that Hester is realizing the true guilt she feels.  When Hawthorne says ‘illuminated’ Hester sees clear as day the sin she has committed, which prevents her from remaining hidden.  Pearl stood as the reminder to Hester that she would never be like any of the other women of the town, there would always be a different distinctiveness towards her qualities.  The ‘defiance’ in Pearls mood showed Hester the little disobedience she had given her little girl, the mother she needed to be, but never was.  This constantly reminded Hester of her mistake.  

The way in which a character responds to sin and guilt is their willingness to accept and learn from a mistake.  Hester is in jeopardy of losing her child due to assumptions from the public suggesting bad mothering.  She stands up and defends Pearl and fights for her right to have possession of her child.  Hawthorne writes in defense of Hester, “this badge hath taught me,—-it daily teaches me, —-it is teaching me at this moment,—lessons whereof my child may be wiser and better” (Hawthorne 76).  When referring to this ‘badge’ Hawthorne is meaning both the letter “A” and the sin Hester has committed, as well as the child she now possesses.  Pearl is the reason she has learned and the reason she will continue to learn.  Readers see the true pride and connection Hester feels with little Pearl, a connection she fights for and is scared of losing.  Hester declares that “my child may be wiser and better” suggesting that Hester wants Pearl to be different from her.  Hester wants Pearl to be accepted and not just seen as the mistake Hester created.  Pearl is the leader on which the path leads to showing Hester how she wants to move past this guilt, instead of dwelling on such a horrid mistake to the people of Boston.  Pearl is the key component who is illustrating the future Hester is able to have.  

Pearl serves as a very important connection in Hester’s life, the reassurance that love still exists for Hester.  As Hester has accepted her sin, she works to receive forgiveness from others, but mostly from herself.  The people of the town had forgiven her, but this was not enough to allow Hester to forgive herself , something was missing.  In doing this she had the realization that Pearl’s suffering father, Dimmesdale, deserved to know the truth about what happened and who had been aiding him.  He deserved to stop being tormented by Chillingworth, and understand to how Hester felt.  Most importantly Hester realized her love for Dimmesdale and that soon it would be too late to convey to him.  She had been missing one aspect of life since the sin, and that was love.  Hawthorne beautifully writes, “And there stood the minister, with his hand over his heart; and Hester Prynne, with the embroidered letter glimmering on her bosom; and little Pearl, herself a symbol, and the connecting link between those two” (Hawthorne 106).  Pearl is providing Hester with that moment of clarity.  Pearl described as the ‘connecting link’ is speaking to Hester directly, that both Dimmesdale and herself can be guilty together.  She gives the reassurance that guilt together is much better than guilt alone. Pearl stands as the realization for Hester that Dimmesdale is what she is missing.  Love had vacated her life for so long because of her sin, and it may just be the last piece she needs to forgive herself.  Pearl provides the key so that Hester is willing to reveal the truth and out her identity, all for the importance of love.

The story of Hester Prynne’s guilty life of sin provides readers reasons to believe Pearl will be nothing different than the person her mother embodies.  In truth Pearl is the reason Hester has learned, but also the reason she still shames herself and second guesses if she should forgive herself.  Hester had continued to try and accept her guilt, but she was always being held back.  While at the governor’s hall Pearl’s instinct draws her to interact with Dimmesdale, surely not out of random.  The narrator describes Pearl’s actions as, “that wild and flighty little elf, stole softly towards him, and, taking his hand in the grasp of her own, laid her cheek against it, a caress so tender, and withal so unobtrusive” (Hawthorne 79). This took Hester by so much surprise she continued on to ask “Is that my Pearl” (Hawthorne 79)?  Pearl was showing Hester what the right decisions was, and the one avenue of a happy future that remained.  It was Dimmesdale, it was love, Pearl was showing Hester that even if Hester would not forgive herself Dimmesdale would still forgive her.  Dimmesdale and Hester’s future together was so clear to Pearl who was always watching from the outside in, and now Hester was able to realize they could be a family with little Pearl.  Though some may think that Hester can never be forgiven, Pearl is the reminder that love forgives, and that Dimmesdale is Hester’s true love.  She learned more than just about her sin, but about herself as a human being, that she is deserving of love, and the life she intends to give her little Pearl.  Pearl provided her mother with the opportunity for growth, love, but most importantly the chance to forgive herself.