| Term Paper Title |
Scarlet Letter Ambiguity |
| # of Words |
1620 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) |
6.48 |
scarlet letter ambiguity
Ambiguity and The Scarlet Letter go better together than two people that have
been
happily married for 75 years. There is no exemption in Hawthorne’s
exquisite symbolism
of one of his main characters, Pearl. The Scarlet Letter A, worn by Hester
Prynne, was a
punishment for the immoral sin of adultery she had committed. Following
Hester's act of
adultery, she became pregnant with a baby girl whom she named Pearl. From the
first
moment that we are introduced to Pearl in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The
Scarlet
Letter, we get the sense that there is something strange and unnatural about
her. Pearl
acts very differently than the other people in Boston in that she seems to be
much more
vibrant than the others. We see this displayed in various different forms
like her dress, her
mood swings, her sometimes mischievous behavior, and her constant liveliness.
Throughout the novel, Pearl is used by Hawthorne to symbolize many different
elements,
and the ambiguity come together for one significant meaning.
A critic of Hawthorne states, “when depth and ambiguity are much admired in
writing, Hawthorne has continued to offer enough complexity and mystery to
hold a wide
variety of readers.”(Davidson, 361) Pearl was not accepted by virtually
anyone; her
unavoidable seclusion was due to the sin of her mother. Pearl was always
different
somehow. Throughout all of this, Pearl is labeled with many symbols that are
meaningful
in understanding Hawthorne’s novel, and they will be explained in the
preceding
paragraphs.
For one, Pearl is the living embodiment of the scarlet letter. She is the
result from
Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s sins. Pearl plays one of the most crucial roles
in The Scarlet
Letter. Hawthorne uses Pearl as a dynamic character; she is a constant
reminder to Hester
of her sin. When we were first introduced to Pearl, she was immediately drawn
to the
Scarlet A on Hester’s bosom. “But the first object of which Pearl seemed
to become
aware was the scarlet letter on Hester’s bosom! One day, as her mother
stooped over the
cradle, the infant’s eyes had been caught by the glimmering of the gold
embroidery about
the letter’ and, putting up her little hand, she grasped at it, smiling not
doubtfully, but with
a decided gleam.” (Hawthorne, 88). Beginning when she was conceived, Pearl
served as a
reminder of the Scarlet A on her bosom. Hawthorne shows this symbolism
various times.
In Chapter 7, Pearl and Hester go to the Governor’s house and Pearl’s
attire “inevitably
reminded the beholder of the token which Hester Prynne was doomed to wear
upon her
bosom. It was the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed
with life!”
(Hawthorne, 93). Pearl is dressed in a scarlet dress with gold fringe exactly
resembling the
Scarlet A on Hester’s bosom. Pearl had a natural preference to focus on the
Scarlet Letter,
which is show in Chapter 15. “…Pearl took some eel-grass, and imitated,
as best as she
could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her
mother’s.
A letter, the letter A, but freshly green, instead of scarlet!” (Hawthorne,
163). In this
scene, Hester eventually has to deny its significance to Pearl after she
constantly confronts
her mother of its significance. One of the most symbolic scenes in the novel
occurs in the
forest as Pearl and Hester are traveling to meet Dimmesdale. Pearl remarks to
Hester that
“the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it
is afraid of
something on your bosom.” (Hawthorne, 168). Sunshine, which can symbolize
composed
happiness or the approval of God and nature, rejects Hester because of her
sin and the
“thing on her bosom”. Therefore, this confirms that Pearl constantly
reminds her of her sin
and her punishment. In one of the most dramatic scenes in the novel, Pearl
prevents Hester
from escaping her sin and shame. Pearl “bursts into a fit of pass...Read entire document
|
|
|
