The Scarlet Letter- Pearl: the Sin and Shame

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Pearl: The sin and shame Children, in many different ways, change a parent’s life and give them new meaning to each day. Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne, redefines the changes that her mother now takes on in the novel The Scarlet Letter. Hester and Pearl are criticized and ostracized in the community they live among. This is specifically because Hester has committed the sin of adultery and now bears an embroidered “A” upon her chest as a permanent reminder of shame and impurity. But, their community has associated Pearl to her mother’s letter and is recognized for her unusual ambiance. Nathaniel Hawthorne establishes Pearl, the child born from sin, as a symbol of deeper meaning. In his novel, both Hester and Pearl are mutually impacted through the symbol of sin and shame found in the birth and life of Pearl. Pearl radiates certain uniqueness to her that their society perceives to be a sort of devilish personality. When the eyes of the community begin to define her as a demon child, they find it crucial to take action. Soon Hester learns that, …There was a design on the part of some of the leading inhabitants, cherishing the more rigid order of principles in religion and government, to deprive her of her child. On the supposition that Pearl, as already hinted, was of demon origin, these good people not unreasonably argued that a Christian interest in the mother's soul required them to remove such a stumbling-block from her path. (81) So now, because Hester has imprinted a sinful, devilish connotation on her daughter, the community is making the assumption that Pearl must carry the same evil, sinful traits as her mother through her conception and birth. Because of this, Pearl is now perceived to be more sinful than her mother. She is affecting the way people look at her mother by giving off a mysterious way to her that is turned into a demo-like

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