The Blameless Pearl in Nathaniel Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter - The Suffering of the Blameless Pearl The Puritan life is based purely on sin. The Puritans believe that all people ar sinners and are thus despised and hated by God. Sinners are subject to the cudgel punishments and suffer the worst torment. In Nathaniel Hawthornes novel, The Scarlet Letter, several characters serve as models of sinners in agony from their error. Both Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne bear the punishment of their adultery, which evidenced itself in their daughter Pearl. While Dimmesdale plagues himself with guilt and Hester lives with the brand of the scarlet A, it is Pearl who receives the worst penalty, suffering for a sin which she did non even commit. The village where she resides associates her with the circumstances of her birth, branding her with a reputation as difficult to bear as her mothers. Although galore(postnominal) in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter endure the results of sin, none have punishment equal to that of little Pearls. From the moment she is born in the cold, heartless prison, Pearl is located under scrutiny. The townspeople see her as a visible reminder of sin, and it isnt long until even her own mother searches for evil in her. The girl is expound as the scarlet letter in another form the scarlet letter endowed with life(Hawthorne 103). With her fascination from an early age with the scarlet letter, Hester believes that Pearls very(prenominal) reason for existence is to torment her mother. Hester fails to realize that the letter is just something bright and significant to which Pearl reacts instead, she sees every glance, every word aimed at the letter, every conjure up of Pearls tiny fingers to her bosom as an added torture resulting from her adultery. Hester, considering Pearls very existence, goes so far as to question if the impish child is even her own. Thou art not my child Thou art no Pearl of mine(Hawthorne 99) she tells Pearl, only half-jokingly. In her own way, she wonders whether Pearl was sent to her by God or by a demon wishing to cause her pain. She is not alone in this speculation many of the towns citizens believe there is something of the Devil in Pearl.