What effect does a child have on her mother? Or more specifically, what about when the child was conceived accidentally and born without a father? In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this is the exact circumstances that Pearl is born. She is a fatherless child and has a mother who has been banished by society. More importantly Pearl is the direct result of one of the most horrible sins according to Puritan faith. That said, to suggest that Pearl is the living embodiment of sin, a devil, or detrimental to Hester is up to interpretation because Pearl could also be the source of joy and happiness as well as the will to live for Hester.
In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Pearl has some positive influences on Hester’s life. In chapter 6, Hester tells us that “she named the infant ‘Pearl,’ as being of great price – purchased with all she had – her mother’s only treasure” (Hawthorne 80). The phrase ‘as being of great price’ refers to a Bible verse that discusses how the Kingdom of Heaven is like a great pearl, and how a merchant spent all that he had for it. This infers that Pearl really is Hester’s ‘only treasure’, but still does not necessarily bring joy to her life. Another example of Pearl’s joy and redemptive role in Hester’s life occurs in chapter 9. After Hester wins custody of Pearl at Governor Bellingham’s house, she encounters Mistress Hibbins, the Governor’s sister. Hibbins is eventually executed as a witch years later. She invites Hester to come into the woods and sign the Black Man’s (Satan’s) book. In which Hester replies that she must go home and take care of Pearl, but if Bellingham had taken away Pearl than Hester would have “gone with thee”, Hibbins, “into the forest, and signed my name in the Black Man’s book too, and that with mine own blood” (Hawthorne 105). Without Pearl, Hester literally would have signed her name in the devil’s book ‘with mine own blood’, which basically means certain death for her if her child was taken away. By pulling Hester away from death, Pearl plays the redemption role in her life by pulling her away from sin. Pearl also displays a supportive role for Hester in chapter 7. When walking to the Governor’s house, Hester and Pearl run into a group of kids, who insult them and throw mud at them. Pearl responds by “Frowning, stamping her foot… made a rush at the knot of enemies, and put them all to flight… She resembled…” [a] “half-fledged angel of Judgement – whose mission it was to punish the sins of the rising generation” (Hawthorne 92). The key phrase is when Pearl is compared to an “angel” with a mission to “punish the sins of the rising generation”. Some could say that another mission of Pearl’s was to redeem Hester. Either way Pearl responds well to the children and is not afraid of standing up for her mother.
In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl also plays the role of being a fiendish punishment and a destructive force in Hester’s life. In chapter 6, when describing how Hester felt with Pearl, Hawthorne says that “Hester had never felt a moment’s safety; not a moment’s calm enjoyment with her” (Hawthorne 87). That does not seem like Pearl is playing the joyful role in Hester’s life; in fact, Pearl plays the destructive force in Hester’s life by taking away her ‘safety’ and ‘calm enjoyment’. Later, on the same page, Hawthorne again tells how Hester is haunted by Pearl, the fiendish punishment for Hester’s sin. The paragraph goes on to say that while Hester is gazing into Pearl’s eyes, she is convinced that she sees a devilish spirit the lurking within. The evil spirit, smiling with malice, mocked her. Hawthorne later says that “many a times afterwards had Hester been tortured, though less vividly, by the same illusion” (Hawthorne 87). Hester is ‘tortured’ by this image; therefore, it is safe to assume that Pearl is not bringing much happiness to Hester. For “many a times afterward” when Hester looks into Pearl’s eyes or maybe even thinks about them she is tortured by the illusion of this evil spirit. This is another example of how Pearl plays a negative role in Hester’s life. Similarly, Pearl is also seen as a destructive force in Hester’s life in chapter 8. At the Governor’s house Hester is trying to win custody over Pearl and Mr. Wilson asks the child the simple question of “who made thee?” In which Pearl replies, well knowing exactly who made her, “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). This is possibly the worst time for Pearl to say this, and it nearly destroys Hester. The question was supposed to test Pearl on how much she had been taught about Christianity. Hester had taught about their faith well and it is acknowledged that Pearl would have done well in the New England Primer and the Westminster Catechism, which were tests on a child’s knowledge. Yet, Pearl has to say this and make her mother look like she has been teaching her some devilish worship. This greatly exemplifies how Pearl is a destructive force in Hester’s life.
To wrap it up, Pearl’s negative effects in Hester’s life far outweigh the positive effects. In her positive impacts, Pearl is a great treasure to Hester. She essentially is the only thing standing in between Hester and the Black Man’s book and stands up for her mother. The negative role however that Pearl plays outweighs the positives because Pearl threatens Hester’s safety and calm enjoyment. She tortures Hester with the evil possession of her eyes, and purposely works against her mother to make it look like Hester is unfit to be her mother.
Although I do recognize that Pearl has many positives attributes to herself as well as on her mother, I believe that they still do not outweigh her negatives.
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