Scarlet Letter

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" This quote states that when your conscience begins to grow tender, you will act to prevent the misery of those around you than to provoke it. This applies to Hester because towards the end of the novel we really begin to see Hester's true feelings towards Arthur Dimmesdale. She shows her compassion when Dimmesdale's conscience is really burning him inside. A major part of their burning consciences is the symbol of Pearl, but this symbol applies more to Hester since Pearl is her own daughter. In the Scarlet Letter, Pearl is an extremely important symbol that plays to Hester's conscience and emotions. Reluctantly she is brought into the world, disapproved by society, and Hester must daily bear the burden Pearl restricts on her life. Thusly, Pearl plays a significant role in the novel and is more importantly a symbol that represents a reminder to Hester about the sin that she has committed.
When we are first introduced to Pearl, we merely know her as an infant. Hester is carrying her when she is walking up to the scaffold. At this very scene in the novel we see how Pearl begins to play with Hester's conscience, "Even the poor baby, at Hester's bosom, was affected by the same influence, for it directed its hitherto vacant gaze towards Mr. Dimmesdale, and held up its little arms, with a half pleased, half plaintive murmur"(Hawthorne 20). This excerpt has an extremely significant role in the novel. As Pearl reaches out to Chillingworth it shows us that she is reaching out to her own father. It reminds Hester who her husband truly is, instead of her lover and adulterer Dimmesdale. As the novel goes on and as Pearl grows older, she keeps on reminding Hester of her guilt-filled letter "A". Throughout the novel, Pearl toys with Hester's emotions by playing with the letter. The citizens in the town also state that Pearl herself embodies the letter "A". Hawthorne mainly shows this through the way that Hester dresses Pearl. When Pearl is going to the Governor's Hall, she is wearing an A-symmetrical dress that is scarlet red with gold trim. This shows a familiar similarity to the "A" on Hester's clothes. Hawthorne mainly uses Pearl to symbolize the "A" through his use of mysticism and romanticism, which is a style of writing. He uses one object to refer to another. Pearl continues to torment her mother about the letter as the novel goes on. She keeps on referring back to the letter, pestering her mother for the meaning of it. Hester is still persistent not to reveal the letter to Pearl until later in the novel.
Throughout the novel there is an ongoing disapproval by the citizens of the town at the fact that Pearl is in existence. Since Hester committed her crime, she and Pearl are disowned from the strict Puritan society. Pearl is even referred to as "An imp of evil, emblem and product of sin, she had no right among christened infants."(Hawthorne 45). This shows that the Puritan society as a whole disapproved of Pearl's existence in their society. Hawthorne even uses the phrase "A beautiful flower growing out of sinful soil" to describe the little child. There is also his use of romanticism by using the term "elf-child" to describe her. Having the whole Puritan society condemn upon Pearl puts an even greater burden on Hester. Constantly she is reminded of what she has done. One day Hester goes to the Governor's house. While there, Bellingham wanted to take Pearl away from Hester because he felt as if Hester could not take care of her. Dimmesdale then retaliated and stated that Hester should be given a chance. This example shows irony because Dimmesdale is actually the father of Pearl and he is the one that defends Hester so she can keep Pearl. Even though it is still a secret to the rest of the town, Dimmesdale and Hester are showing their true feelings for each other.
Towards the end, we really do see how Pearl has an effect on Hester. Hester begins to reveal all of her secrets to Pearl. This is significant because it really does show how lonely Hester is. She has no one else to confide in around her so her only option is her daughter. No one really notices Hester in the society and it is almost as if she is an invisible woman. This also shows how lonely she really does feel with no one listening to her. By telling Pearl her secrets, she is almost letting our a part of herself. She is getting rid of that burden that has been bearing down on her with all of her secrets and troubles. I also personally believe that Hester could confide in her daughter. Since Pearl had been questioning her about the letter and having so much knowledge about it already. I believe this also led to the fact that Hester could confide in Pearl.
Pearl plays an extremely significant burden on Hester's conscience. Pearl is an everyday reminder of sin to Hester's conscience. She has to carry and bear the burden of her own sin through her own daughter. Through Pearl, Hester has to live with the thing that she has done wrong. Pearl also is a reminder of who Hester's true lover is and how she has to keep it a secret from the society. In the novel Hester is basically banished from the society. We should not follow this example in our lives today. If someone did something wrong but also confesses their wrongdoing, we should look upon them as brave and honest. We should be willing to help them through their problems and struggles. Hester showed courage and strength throughout the entire novel. She had to live with the torment of everyone judging her, as well as her own daughter, and I believe she did a beautiful job handling it.