Symbolism In The Scarlet Letter

In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne expresses the true nature of his characters. In his story it’s obvious and clear the portrayal of the children. Children’s are innocent they will say or do anything, unlike adults, they are not forced by societal expectations. They are tolerated and innocent to most manners therefore they are less judged but also less accountable than adults when it comes to questioning things or speaking their mind. Pearl the main Child character in the novel is an excellent example of childish innocence and supernatural perception. In the novel the infant Pearl develops into a dynamic symbol that is always changing. Hawthorne 's symbolism of Pearl varies from birth, age three until seven years old. Pearl is symbolized with a metaphorical scarlet letter "A" representing adultery, instead she represents the immorality of her mother 's sin.

When Pearl was just a baby, "her infant 's eyes had been caught by the glimmering of the gold embroidery about the letter" (Hawthorne 96). Pearl seemed to be fascinated by the scarlet letter "A" that was stuck on Hester’s chest. Later on, an incident occurred when Pearl as a baby reached up to her mother’s chest smiling, to gently touch the scarlet letter on Hester 's dress, “Hester Prynne clutch the fatal token, instinctively endeavouring to tear it away; so infinite was the torture inflicted by the intelligent touch of Pearl 's baby-hand” (Hawthorne 96). This incident horrified Hester because of Pearl 's innocent