Hester’s Great Awakening

In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester’s daughter, Pearl, plays a big role in Hester’s transformation throughout the book. Since Hester is an outcast from society, Pearl plays a major role in her life as Pearl is the only other person Hester has a lot of contact with. By Pearl being outcasted as well as her mother, she has very few interactions with people other than Hester. Pearl’s separation from the outside world soon causes problems for Hester when she is introduced into society. Pearl’s inexperience to this new world leads her to act in a way that could damage her future with Hester. Although raising Pearl was difficult, she was the cause of Hester’s redemption later in the story. In retrospect, the conflicts of raising Pearl caused Hester’s transformation throughout the book. As a result, Pearl’s bad influence on Hester caused her to change for the good, enhancing Pearl’s future.

Hester’s sin automatically put her and Pearl on the bottom of the social hierarchy. Hester was forced to wear a red letter “A” on her chest that stood for adultery. After Hester was released from prison, she and Pearl were ridiculed and publicly humiliated. Their reputation among the community was poor, and being that Pearl had just been born by Hester, by affiliation she was considered a sinner and outcast as well. The narrator describes how Pearl is perceived amongst the community: “Pearl was a born outcast of the infant world. An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants” (Hawthorne 64). Pearl is referred to as, ‘an imp of evil,’ and among the people she is seen to be goblin like or trouble among other children. She is the living ‘emblem’ of Hester’s crime, and the consequences of her sin. Straight from birth, Pearl automatically ‘had no right among christened infants,’ and now that she was considered to be a ‘product’ of evil, she was not allowed to play with any of the other children growing up. Hester’s sin directly affects Pearls life, but indirectly affected her own. Pearl’s division from the community due to Hester’s sin, lead to social conflicts amongst Pearl and other people, causing Hester problems that could affect both their futures.

As Pearl grew up an outcast, her social inexperience sparked problems among other children in the community, and hurt Hester’s reputation as the mother. Once Pearl was old enough to accompany Hester out of the house, she encountered herself among other children of the community. The children knew of her affiliation to her mother, so Pearl was also treated poorly and humiliated while in public. Pearl’s social inexperience lead to her actions toward this shame, as she was blighted with a propensity to act violently towards the children: “If the children gathered about her, as they sometimes did, Pearl would grow positively terrible in her puny wrath, snatching up stones to fling at them, with shrill incoherent exclamations that made her mother tremble, because they had so much the sound of a witch’s anathemas in some unknown tongue” (Hawthorne 64). Hester is scared of Pearl and how she chooses to react towards the children. Pearl is depicted to be evil, and simulate the ‘incoherent exclamations’ of an ‘unknown tongue’ of such a creature known to be a ‘witch.’ Readers can see how Pearls actions cause Hester grief and doubt to whether Pearl is an evil child or not. This boudt is also shared among the community, weakening the public opinion on whether Hester is fit to raise Pearl. Later in the story Hester is asked to meet with Reverend Dimmesdale to discuss the consequences of Pearl’s actions.

All the problems Pearl has been causing in the community provoked the meeting she and Hester had with Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale. Pearl’s actions among the community were causing a ruckus, and needed to be stopped  so she and Hester were called in to speak with the reverend Mr. Dimmesdale about Pearl’s punishment: “On the superstition that Pearl, as already hinted, was of demon origin, these good people not unreasonably argued that a Christian interest in the mother so required them to remove such a stumbling-block from her path. If the child, on the other hand, were really capable of moral and religious growth, and possessed the element of ultimate salvation, then, surely, it would enjoy all the fair prospect of these advantages of being transferred to wiser and better guardianship than Hester Prynne’s” (Hawthorne 68).  Hester is trapped and will loose Pearl no matter the option. The first option states that Pearl will be removed from her mother, so that Pearl can be converted back to a normal Christian child. The second option states that Hester shall be removed from Pearl, as she is not seen fit to raise a child. As a result, all of Pearl’s actions led to Hester and Pearl being threatened to be separated, causing problems for their future together.

The threat of losing Pearl sparked a fire in Hester’s heart, setting her on the path for redemption. When Hester almost loses Pearl, she realizes she needed to redeem herself for the sin she committed and save herself for the good. Pearl meant everything to Hester, and she was willing to do everything to keep her. In desperate need for ideas to convince Mr. Dimmesdale Pearl should stay with her, she explains, “This badge hath taught me, – it daily teaches me, – it teaches me at this moment, – Lessons whereof my child may be the wiser and better, albeit they can profit nothing to myself” (Hawthorne 76). Hester’s answer excused both the options of Pearl being taken away. She explains how ‘the badge hath taught’ her,  punished her for her sin, and changed her to a better mother more fit to raise a child. Also allows her to teach Pearl ‘Lessons’ and convert her from he evil ways to be ‘wiser and better’ than before. The realization of almost losing Pearl because of her foul behavior,  started the shift to good on behalf of Hester’s life.

Now that Hester has secured Pearl to herself, she has become motivated to redeem herself for the good of Pearl’s future. On Hester’s way back home, she has an encounter with a witch. She is offered to join the witch in the forest to practice the ways of evil and Satan. Hester replies with, “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 80). Pearl saves Hester’s life, by being the reason she doesn’t decide to go with the ‘Black Man’ into the woods. She would have ‘willingly,’ meaning very easily had given up her life is she had lost Pearl This marked the beginning of Hester’s change towards the redemption of her sin, and proving she was fit to raise Pearl. Peal was all she had left to live for, and the threat of losing her had sparked the start of Hester’s transition.

The problems Pear caused lead to Hester’s fear of her being taken away from her. This fear marked the transition from Pearl being a bad influence in her life, to being a good influence. As a result, Pearls actions throughout the book caused Hester to change and better the future of their lives together. Many argue that the scene on the scaffolding is the most important scene in the book; However, the scene in Governor Bellingham’s house was the most important in the novel. In this scene Hester realizes how much of value Pearl is to her and how much she doesn’t want to lose here. This scene marks the start for Hester and Pearl’s redemption to the sins Hester committed. This change motivated Hester to better herself for the benefit of Pearl’s life in the future.

Scarlet Letter Pearl Essay