We all like a good scandal and mystery right? Well, the Scarlet Letter is the story for you then. It was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1840’s. The book is set in Puritan time. This woman, Hester Prynne, went to jail because she had an affair with someone. Her husband was off at sea and she got pregnant while he was away. They sent her to prison and she had the baby in jail. She was forced to wear a scarlet A on her bosom. A man comes into town on the day of her punishment and it turns out it was her husband. He questions why the man is not also standing up there with her. The minister tells him that she refuses to tell. We get hints throughout the book about who the father is, but you do not find out until the end that it was Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. The scarlet letter has many things that represent it; three of those things are Hester, the clothes Hester makes, and Pearl. Hester is an example of the scarlet letter she has made. The …show more content…
She was naturally pretty. The letter was very fancy, intricate, and pretty. Pearl was naturally all of those things. “So magnificent was the the small figure, when thus arrayed, and such was the splendor of Pearl’s own proper beauty, shining through the gorgeous robes, which might have extinguished a paler loveliness, that there was an absolute circle of radiance around her (Hawthorne, 93). Hester made sure to emphasize on the beauty of her daughter by making sure she was very well dressed. Hester was a very good seamstress. She made all of Pearl’s dresses and they all looked fabulous. Even Hester realizes that Pearl is the living, breathing scarlet letter. She even said so in the book. “She is my happiness! — she is my torture . . . See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin (Hawthorne,116)?” Hawthorne makes it very obvious that Pearl is represents the scarlet
In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, adulteress Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A to mark her shame. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, remains unidentified and is wracked with guilt, while her husband, Roger Chillingworth who seeks revenge. In June 1642, A young woman named Hester Prynne was found guilty of adultery in the Puritan town of Boston. Then a crowd gathered to witness the punishment and now she must wear a scarlet A on her dress as a sign of shame.
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne reveals a lot about the human condition. A theme that is consistently expressed throughout this novel is the drastic effect of committing a sin, or something that is considered immoral in society. Specifically the book focuses on how secrets can weigh on a person’s mental state and lead to a heavy toll on their daily livelihoods. Hester Prynne, and Arthur Dimmesdale both have to pay a hefty price for the toll that keeping secrets has caused and that is what the novel reveals about the human condition.
Hester dislikes the fact that the “scarlet letter” may be perceived as a sign of weakness, and instead learns to be empowered by the “A”. Ultimately, Hester actively made a positive impact on the community and proceeds to raise pearl, her child, without any assistance from Roger or Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester exemplifies her independence through her ability to maintain financial stability while raising her daughter and working. Hester eventually morphs the public's view of the scarlet letter into something positive. The narrator says, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification.
In the beginning of the work, it is stated in reference to the rose bush by the prison door that it, "May serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close of a tale of human frailty and sorrow" (5). Throughout the novel we see many linking similarities between the character Pearl and the color red. Red is the color of the rose bush by the prison door, of the letter on her mother's breast, and it is a color her mother frequently dresses her in. Like the way the rose bush serves as the sole pleasant thing in the vision of criminals, Pearl is a wonderful thing in the hopeless world her mother built for herself, however her behavior is a thorn in her mother's flesh. Hester's scarlet letter represents her sin, shame, and wealth.
In The Scarlet Letter, Pearl is a very important character and she symbolizes a lot. Pearl is also very smart. She figures out before many of the adults in the town, that Dimmesdale is her father. Pearl also has a big imagination. She when she plays alone, she can turn anything as simple as a stick or a rock into something aminated, and something she play with.
Although while she embodies, Hester’s wild side, she also represents the sin that she committed to create her. Pearl is the reason she has the scarlet “A” on her clothes. In first scaffold scene, Hester hides her scarlet “A” by shielding it with Pearl, irony was prevalent, as she was hiding what literally called her an adulterer, with something that symbolized her being an
The Scarlet Letter narrates the story of Hester Prynne, a recently married young woman sent to America in search of a new and better life, despite the fact her husband, Roger Prynne aka Dr. Roger Chillingworth had remained in England for the purpose of business. She had moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the early 1640’s. The book begins with Hester’s emergence from the town’s jail wearing the scarlet letter A embroided on her dress and holding a baby. The scarlet letter is a mark that women convicted of adultery were forced to wear among the Puritans during 17th century New England. The Puritans had been a group of people who sought to purify the Church of England from all Roman Catholic practices.
The scarlet letter is connected to Hester and becomes such a part of her that Hester’s own daughter Pearl cannot recognize her mother without the letter.
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.
Pearl is a symbol of the scarlet letter. She was born due to adultery, which is the same reason as to why Hester wears the scarlet letter A. In chapter 7, Pearl is coincidentally put into a red tunic, “...arraying her in a crimson velvet tunic … and flourishes of gold-thread” (Hawthorne 92), which makes Hester realize that she is the human version of the scarlet letter. By Hester realizing this, it shows to the reader that Pearl can be a “sin” and a “blessing” all at the same time.
When Hester finally takes off the scarlet letter “A” and her cape in the wilderness, it not only represents the beauty she held despite the emotional punishment she underwent, but it also represents her removing the Puritan and patriarch society holding her back. Hester’s feminist conscious is intricately portrayed throughout the
While reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, it is obvious that he uses a lot of symbolism throughout his writing to give the readers a deeper understanding of the Puritans and their views in these times. In this book, the community forces Hester Prynne to wear a scarlet letter on her chest to show her abashment for committing adultery and having a child, Pearl. However, Pearl is actually used as a symbol throughout this book to represent the physical embodiment of Hester’s sin, the repercussions of her breaking the law, and an unworldly being in the usual strict Puritan society. In the beginning of the book, Hawthorne uses Pearl as a way to constantly remind Hester of her sin and as a link between the secret relationship of Hester
In "The Scarlet Letter," Pearl also personifies a brook by asking it "foolish and tiresome little brook…why art thou so sad?" In reality, Pearl is reflecting her own human emotions onto a non-living thing. The main character, Hester, also serves as a living personification of the scarlet letter she is branded with. Although the scarlet letter only signifies certain actions and the judgment of others, by taking ownership of the letter, Hester gives this non-living thing human qualities by making it a part of herself.
The Scarlet Letter begins in 1642 Boston, Massachusetts with the Puritan society punishing Hester Prynne for her sins against God. The puritans believe that any crime is a crime or a sin against God and the Puritan leaders take this very seriously. Hester committed adultery with an unknown man. She was living out her punishment peacefully with her child Pearl until Roger Chillingworth appears back in town. No one knows that Chillingworth is Hester 's husband except for Hester.
In The Scarlet Letter is merely a symbol in the story, her function is to remind Hester of her sin which affects her role in the story to become more antagonistic to Hester. Pearl is a character, yes, but in the novel, she is mostly a symbol. The way Hawthorne writes her, she is not like a regular person, and she 's not