The Scarlet Letter: Much Symbolism Essay, Research Paper

The Scarlet Letter: Much Symbolism

The Scarlet Letter is a book of much symbolism. One of the most complex

and misunderstood symbols in the book is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne.

Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic symbol – one that is

always changing. In the following essay, I will explore some of the symbolism

which Pearl came to represent throughout the novel.

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester, for her sins, received a scarlet letter,

“A” which she had to wear upon her chest. This was the Puritan way of treating

her as a criminal, for the crime of adultery. The Puritan treatment continued,

because as Hester would walk through the streets, she would be looked down upon

as if she were some sort of demon from Hell, that committed a terrible crime.

This would give her much mental anguish and grief. On the other hand, God’s

treatment of Hester for her sin was quite different than just a physical token:

he gave Hester the punishment of a very unique child which she named Pearl.

This punishment handed down from God was a constant mental and physical reminder

to Hester of what she had done wrong, and she could not escape it. In this

aspect, Pearl symbolized God’s way of punishing Hester for adultery.

The way Hester’s life was ruined for so long was the ultimate price that

Hester paid for Pearl. With Pearl, Hester’s life was one almost never filled

with joy, but instead a constant nagging. Pearl would harass her mother over

the scarlet “A” which she wore. Pearl would also make her own “A” to wear, and

sometimes she played games with her mother’s, trying to hit it with rocks. When

Hester would go into the town with Pearl, the other children would make fun of

her, and Pearl would yell and throw dirt at them. So, in this case, Pearl

symbolized the decimation of Hester’s life and mental state.

Although Hester had so much trouble with Pearl, she still felt that

Pearl was her treasure. Pearl was really the only thing that Hester had in life,

and if Pearl wasn’t in Hester’s life, Hester would almost surely have committed

suicide. Once and a while, Pearl would bring joy to Hester’s life, and that

helped her to keep on living. Pearl really symbolized a rose to her mother, at

some times she could be bright and vibrant, and really love her mother, but at

other times, she could be wilting. It was at these times when she was “wilting”

that brought Hester the most grief.

One final way in which Pearl symbolized something in the novel was with

her association with the scarlet letter. Pearl really was the scarlet letter,

because if Pearl had never been born, Hester would have never been found guilty

of adultery, and thus never would have had to wear that burden upon her chest.

Without that burden, Hester would have led a much better life then the one she

had throughout the novel.

In closing, Pearl was a source of many different kinds of symbolism.

From being a rose, to representing the scarlet letter “A”, she was a kind of

burden, yet love for Hester. And as a final note, Pearl was more then her

mother’s only treasure; she was her mother’s only source of survival.