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Sam Mager
Ms. Bouch
Honors English
1/8/18
The Scarlet Letter Essay

Of all the symbolism apparent throughout The Scarlet Letter, Pearl may be the most

symbolic character in the entire book. Even her name is symbolic. She serves as a symbol for

several different parts of the story. Pearl is a symbol of sacrifice because her parents both made

sacrifices in order for her to be born. She also is a symbol of awareness for both of her parents

and for the audience, as she has the ability of seeing the truth in people.

Pearl is a symbol of awareness for her parents, who are not always able to understand the

signs shown to them. First, she constantly reminds Hester of the scarlet letter, and in turn, her sin

as well. For example, when Pearl was a baby, she never took her eyes off of her mother’s scarlet

letter. Hester recalls, about Pearl, that the “first thing which she had noticed, in her life was—

what?—not the mother’s smile,…but that first object of which Pearl was to become aware was—

shall we say it?—the scarlet letter on Hester’s bosom! One day,… putting up her little hand, she

grasped at it,…gasping for breath, did 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 66). Not only does Pearl serve as a reminder of Hester’s sin

through her own existence, but she also constantly reminds her mothers of her sin by being so

attached to the scarlet letter. Pearl and the scarlet letter are both connected to Hester’s sin, and

that is why Pearl is so drawn to the letter. This worries Hester, who believes that since Pearl was

conceived out of sin, that she may be evil. As long as Pearl lives, Hester will always carry the

weight of her sin. Next, Pearl is able to recognize the evil qualities in Chillingworth and she tries

to warn her parents about him. Pearl often refers to Chillingworth as the “Black Man.” In one
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specific scene, she warns her mother, saying, “"Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old

Black Man will catch you! He has got hold of the minister already. Come away, mother, or he

will catch you! But he cannot catch little Pearl!" (92). Lastly, Pearl is a reminder to Dimmesdale

that he must confess his sin. Because her father refuses to stand, publicly, with her and Hester,

Pearl refuses to recognize Dimmesdale as her father. When Pearl is asked by Hester to come

across the brook, to greet her father, she responds, “‘Doth he love us?’ said Pearl, looking up

with acute intelligence into her mother’s face. ‘Will he go back with us hand in hand, we three

together, into the town?’” (145). Dimmesdale will not walk into town with Hester and Pearl

because he does not want anyone to find out of his sin. This causes Pearl to question whether he

really loves them and if he is ashamed of them. Pearl will not show any love to her father until he

does what is right, which is to confess his sin to the public. If he does not confess his sin soon,

his guilt is going to kill him.

Pearl also serves as a symbol of reward through sacrifice. Both of her parents made great

sacrifices in order for Pearl to be born, being as she was conceived out of a sinful act. Since

adultery is a crime in Puritan society, Hester is punished for her actions. First, she is sent to

prison for a year. During her sentence is when Pearl was born. Next, Hester is forced to wear the

scarlet “A” on her chest for the rest or her life. Lastly, Hester is publicly shamed by being forced

to stand on the scaffold in the middle of the town, so that everyone can gawk at her for her sin. In

order for Hester to have her beloved child, with the man she loves, she made several sacrifices.

For the remainder of Hester’s life, she has to live in shame for the sin she has committed. The

townspeople stare as she walks through town, and children throw objects at her and Pearl. Even

though Hester has become a successful seamstress, no one will allow her to create any wedding

gowns, as they view her as evil and do not want to taint their marriage. Hester’s sin followed her
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for the rest of her life, not only because of her letter, but because of Pearl. The last sacrifice is

made by Dimmesdale, Pearl’s father. Because of the sin he committed in order to create Pearl, he

has to live with the guilt of his sin for the rest of his life. He tortures himself with the guilt that

has been built up inside of him, both physically and mentally. He wants to confess his sin so

badly, but he just cannot bring himself to do it. Dimmesdale had to make the biggest sacrifice of

all in order for Pearl to be born.

Pearl is included as a symbol for a few reasons. First, she shows the audience that the sin

committed by Hester and Dimmesdale is not all that bad. While they did both commit adultery,

which was considered to be a very great sin in Puritan society, they created life, which is a

positive aspect. This helps the reader understand that analyzing the situation can bring out a truth

that was previously unknown, because at first Hester appears to be a criminal for her sin, but,

once the situation is deeply looked at, it becomes clear that her sin created a new life, proving

that it is not all that bad. In this way, Pearl serves as a balance between the good and bad

consequences of Hester and Dimmesdale’s sin. Pearl’s ability of awareness also helps the reader

closely analyze characters. She serves as a reminder that Hester’s sin will always be a part of her.

She is also able to recognize that Dimmesdale must confess his sin, or the guilt is going to kill

him. By refusing to love him until he publicly stands, hand in hand, with her and Hester, she is

trying to get him to confess. This allows the audience to realize that Dimmesdale will never rid

of his guilt and will soon die if he does not fess up about what he has done. She is also able to

recognize that Chillingworth is evil, often calling him the “Black Man.” This lets the audience

know that Chillingworth is not to be trusted as he is only out for revenge.

Pearl is a symbol of sacrifice because her parents both had to make sacrifices in order for

her to be born. She also is a symbol of awareness for both of her parents and for the audience, as
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she has the ability of seeing the truth in people. She uncovers hidden truths not only for the other

characters, but for the audience as well. In this way, she plays a very important role for the story

as a whole. Without her judgement, many aspects of the story may have been left unclear.