Child of the Devil?

Some may say Pearl is the child of the Devil, who came to ruin Hester’s life; however, it is quite the opposite. In Nathanial Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter Pearl is a force of good, a gift from God here to help Hester redeem herself and find a new joy in her forever changed life. Pearl is a child born from Hester’s adultery. As a result of this and other strange occurrences, she is thought to be a demon child, even by her own mother at times. In fact, Pearl, the gift from God, protects Hester from a much worse fate several times in the opening of the story.

Some may argue Pearl is a demon child because of her harsh interactions with children, however, she was just defending her mom: “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. She resembled, in her fierce pursuit of them, an infant pestilence, -the scarlet fever, or some such half-fledged angel of judgment, -whose mission was to punish the sins of the rising generation. She screamed and shouted, too, with a terrific volume of sound, which doubtless caused the hearts of the fugitives to quake within them. The victory accomplished, Pearl returned quietly to her mother, and looked up smiling into her face.” (Hawthorne 92). This shows that Pearl is an erratic child; however, she uses this inconsistent energy to scare away local children who berated Hester. She acts strangely on other occasions such as when she threw rocks at Puritan children. However, she acts out in a way others’ morals do not allow them to in order to protect her mother and her honor. She may act strangely and occasionally upset Hester, but she has also become Hester’s reason to live.

Hester lost a lot after her sin was revealed to the whole town, including the connection between her and those she cares about. Pearl comes as a gift from God to Hester, bringing a new joy to her life “‘God gave me the child!’ cried she. ‘He gave her, in requital of all things else, which ye had taken from me. She is my happiness! She is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too!’” (Hawthorne 101). Pearl has become what Hester lives for, keeping her from giving up her life because of her shame. It is stated that Pearl is from God which can be interpreted as Dimmesdale, as a gift for abandoning her at the discovery of their crime. God is often shown as a kind and forgiving figure that will punish humans when it is deemed necessary. Pearl’s actions, such as pointing out Hester’s “A” and just existing, have acted as a reminder to Hester about her sin. This can lead you to believe that Pearl was sent to Hester from God as both an act of kindness and further punishment. This constant reminder will help Hester make it through her punishment and redeem herself as time goes on. Since Pearl is considered a gift from God, it could also be thought that she is here to help Hester combat the devil.

Occasionally Pearl acts as a protector of Hester, not from little children but from the devil who is embodied by Chillingworth in this case “He hath got hold of the minister already” (Hawthorne 121). In this instance, Pearl acts as a warning to Hester that Chillingworth has taken control of Dimmesdale’s life. Chillingworth has become the embodiment of evil in his hatred for the crime. In his rage, he has begun poisoning Dimmesdale. As she is cast out, Hester is unaware of this, but Pearl has managed to discern this in order to warn Hester of Chillingworth’s evil. Since Pearl is a young child, she needs to be cared for a lot as a result she has kept Hester busy “‘Make my excuse to him, so please you!’ answered Hester with a triumphant smile. ‘I must tarry at home, and keep watch over my little Pearl. Had they taken her from, I would willingly have gone with thee into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with my own blood’” (Hawthorne, 105). In this instance, Pearl saves Hester from the biblical Devil. Hester, knowing she needs to go home to tend to Pearl, ignores the mistress’s request. Hester states that if she did not have Pearl in her life she would have given up and willingly made a deal with the Devil. In this case, Pearl has saved Hester from further sin. 

In Nathanial Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter Pearl is a force of good, gifted from God to help Hester redeem herself and find a new joy in her forever changed life. She saves Pearl from the embodiment of evil as well as the Devil himself. Not only this, she saves Hester from the shame of local children on multiple occasions. Instead of making Hester ignore her sin, Pearl draws attention to Hester’s “A” allowing Hester to privately amass her opinions of her sin.