She is the result of the sin that was committed by Hester and Dimmesdale. Throughout the story Pearl asks difficult questions to her mother. She also has a slight obsession with her mothers embroidered A on her clothes. Pearl acts as a constant reminder that she can never escape her sin as someone who has committed adultery. However, Hester loves her daughter so much.
Pearl acts as conscience and the guiltiness that the cowardly Dimmesdale presented throughout the story and even bigger allegorically when you take this into account. Dimmesdale finally confesses to the townspeople, himself, and probably in his mind God. He takes into consideration his “family” and he confesses for the better of him and his family. The confession, although, is going to improve more than his own inner self. Almost like as Dimmesdale stared into the face of God, his sins were
Then, and there, before the judgment seat, thy mother, and thou, and I must stand together. But the daylight of this world shall not see our meeting!" (Hawthrone 277). This reply Dimmesdale gives to pearl when she asks him why he cannot stay with his mother and her together shows that even though Dimmesdale feels guilt and wants to make things right with Pearl and Hester. However, he still has a constant fear of what the public would think of him and the fear of losing his position in the church/society.
Which reveals that God forgave Dimmesdale for his sins. Dimmesdale was then finally kissed by Pearl on the lips. Pearl’s role as consciousness was fulfilled. At the end of chapter 23, Hawthorne states; “"Shall we not meet again? "
Dimmesdale speaks up for the family and says how God sent Pearl to the world and to Hester. He says that Pearl is both a blessings but she is also a curse. This persuades the other men and they say Hester is allowed to keep Pearl. Pearl
Childhood is an important aspect of life that shapes a person into who they are. Both negative and positive aspects will follow through to all parts of their personality during life. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a child Pearl is born through the sin of Adultery by her mother, Hester, and her father Dimmesdale. He is the minister of their Puritan community and thus keeps his identity, as Pearl's father, hidden until his moment of death, but Hester wears a scarlet A, embellished into her bosom, to remind her of the shame and guilt. Pearl seeks answers about her father from the moment she could talk but Hester refuses answers.
Hester does nothing to clarify to Pearl who Dimmesdale really is, but simply just dismissed of what Pearl says. There are many more scenarios where Pearl has been confused on her and her mother’s relationship with Dimmesdale. After Dimmesdale talks to Hester in the forest, Pearl asks, “Doth he love us?” (Hawthorne 207). Since Hester makes the careless mistake of committing adultery, Pearl has to live without a father and she has to wonder if he loves her.
To the right of the scaffold it states, “Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken” (Hawthorne 175). The action of Pearl kissing Mr. Dimmesdale is her way of acknowledging the significance of Mr. Dimmesdale’s proclamation of his sin. She would not come near him when she was in the forest, because she sensed his fraudulent character. She knew he was holding
Dimmesdale, knowing that he is the father of Pearl, keeps it a secret for a very long time. Dimmesdale had burned an “A” on his chest. In the book he states “At last… I stand upon where, seven years since, I should have stood; here, with this woman, whose arm… sustains me, at this dreadful moment, from grovelling down upon my face! Lo, the scarlet letter which Hester wears! … it hath cast a lurid gleam of awe and horrible repugnance round about her.
This child of its father’s guilt and its mother’s shame hath come from the hand of God” (Evans). Though as much as she wants to question Pearl being her daughter, she realize that Pearl is a living reminder of her “sin” she has committed. In the novel “the talk of the neighboring townspeople...had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring...ever since old Catholic times…
Throughout the passage from The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester’s baby, Pearl, to illuminate the theme of beauty in a dark place. Once released from prison, Hester, an adulterer, becomes a public spectacle. Through this hard time, Hester has her daughter Pearl to soothe her and to bring her strength and hope for a better future. By using vivid imagery and juxtaposition, Hawthorne depicts Pearl as Hester’s happiness, light, and beauty during a sad and lonely time. While in Prison, Hester is all alone and depressed.
Due to the fact that Dimmesdale and Hester could not even ignore their initial attraction, the passion that carries throughout their relationship is undeniable. The love they posses for one another only grows stronger as their community and religion constantly reiterates how the should not be together. Not only having admiration for one other, once their child come into the world, they both carry intense amounts of devotion towards keeping it safe. Though Dimmesdale is scared to admit, it is adamant to readers that he cares for her even more so than himself. As Pearl faces the same shame as her parents, such as being called “an imp of evil, emblem and product of sin" (Hawthorne, 129), her need for care and attention grows larger.
The Red Mark on Dimmesdale’s Chest In the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne what was Dimmesdale’s mark, and what caused him to constantly put his hand over his heart? The red mark on Dimmesdale’s chest represents the same thing Hester’s scarlet letter did. The red mark on Dimmesdale’s chest represents adultery in the beginning, guilt in the middle, and pain and death in the end. The stressor that made Dimmesdale feel worse was Hester’s first husband Chillingworth.
By Dimmesdale's hand always on his chest, everyone makes the connection that he is the father of Pearl because of the Scarlet Letter on Hester’s
It is quite obvious in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter that Pearl, Hester Prynne 's daughter, plays a major role. Not only is she one of the main characters, but she is prevalent theme in the novel, as well. Pearl is not written like a regular character. Most of the other symbols in the story, such as the scarlet letter or the rose bush, lead back to Pearl. Pearl takes on many symbols and serves great purpose.