Analysis of Pearl in Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" One of the most significant writers of the romantic period in American literature was Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne wrote stories that opposedthe ideas of Transcendentalism. Since he had ancestors of Puritan belief,Hawthorne wrote many stories about Puritan New England. His most famousstory is the Scarlet Letter. This novel tells of the punishment of a woman,Hester Prynne, who committed adultery and gave birth to Pearl. A ministerof Boston, Arthur Dimmesdale, had an affair with Hester while believingthat her husband, Roger Chillingworth, had died. However, Chillingworthdid not die and appears during the early stages of Hester's punishment. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the character of Pearl in theScarlet Letter. Her whole life had many difficulties while living inPuritan New England. Furthermore, Pearl displays much parallelism to thescarlet letter that Hester must wear. Finally, Pearl's birth intensifiedthe conflicts in the novel. Clearly, Pearl becomes the symbol of all theother major characters' tragedies. Chronology The character of Pearl in the Scarlet Letter lived a very difficultlife. Before the novel begins, Hester Prynne gives birth to Pearl afterhaving an affair with Arthur Dimmesdale, a Puritan minister. Pearl's birthproves that Hester cheated on her husband Roger Chillingworth provoking thestories action. The novel opens with the people of Boston staring andlaughing at Hester holding Pearl while standing on the town's scaffold. Atthis time, Pearl is three months old. Years later Hester gets released fromjail and lives with Pearl in the outskirts of town. Since Hester becomesalienated from Boston, Pearl turns into "her mother's only treasure!"(Hawthorne 76). Hester makes bright red clothes for Pearl that parallel thescarlet "A." At age three, Pearl endures many laughs and jokes from otherPuritan children ...
