The character of Pearl is used as a symbol to criticize the Puritan culture. She mostly serves as a symbol within the text and tends to force the adults surrounding her to think. Her pure, naïve nature and her inability to fit in with the culture shines a light on the hypocrisy of the time. Pearl does not fit in with her peers, who sense that she is different. Through the text, Pearl seems to have an otherworldly sense of things going on around her. She knows who her father is before he admits it to society and is the instigator of her parent’s redemption.
As a symbol Pearl can make the sins of others obvious. She walks through the town holding her mother’s had and can only be with her father in the seclusion of the forest. The shame and guilt burdening Arthur Dimmesdale can be sensed by Pearl. She questions why he holds his chest in the same place Hester has her mark.
“What a strange, sad man is he!” said the child, as if speaking partly to herself. “In the dark night-time, he calls us to him, and holds thy hand and mine, as when we stood with him on the scaffold yonder! And in the deep forest, where only the old trees can hear, and the strip of sky see it, he talks with thee, sitting on a heap of moss! And he kisses my forehead, too, so that the little brook would hardly wash it off! But, here, in the sunny day, and among all the people, he knows us not; nor must we know him! A strange, sad man is he, with his hand always over his heart!”
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Pearl can sense the feelings that Arthur is repressing for fear of judgment by his community and the fear of losing his power. Pearl brings to light his cowardly behavior, which is common in the strict Puritan society. The need to seem virtuous outweighs actually being virtuous.
Pearl’s ability to sense what others are hiding is great. She sees Chillingworth as a “Black Man” who has gotten to Dimmesdale and is also trying to get to her and her mother. “Come away, mother! Come away, or yonder old black man will catch you! He hath got hold of the minister already. Come away, mother or he will catch you! But he cannot catch little Pearl!”. Pearl can also sense that there is something her mother is hiding from her. Hester refuses to explain to her daughter the meaning of the scarlet A sown onto her shirt. Pearl is aware that it must be connected to something that is considered bad seeing as the sun shuns Hester Mother,’ said little Pearl, ‘the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides because it is afraid of something on your bosom. Now, see! There it is, playing a good way off. Stand you here, and let me run and catch it. I am but a child. It will not flee from me—for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!
The honesty and light that Pearl radiates help Dimmesdale to finally stand on the scaffold where Hester stood years ago and show to his congregation that he had been living with the same sin. The promise of a kiss from his daughter helps him on his journey of redemption.
“dear little Pearl, wilt thou kiss me now? Thou wouldst not, yonder, in the forest! But now thou wilt?” Pearl kissed his lips. A spell was broken. The great scene of grief, in which the wild infant bore a part had developed all her sympathies; and as her tears fell upon her father’s cheek.
In the end, she provides Dimmesdale with the peace and strength he needs to pass on, taking the weight of society from his shoulders. Her presence can serve as a reminder to all that no man is without sin, and that we do not have a right to judge someone for their indiscretions.
Throughout the text, the character of Pearl has no real human aspects in her. She is angel-like and serves to bring to light the corrupt nature of the society that she lives in. Her presences remind the reader that no one in this world is holy, every human is a sinner. After she had brought redemption to the people that she loves, she is then able to live a normal life. Pearl brings to light the dark and suppressive way of life in Puritan culture. Her innocent and inquisitive nature make the reader question the way that society functions.
Works Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Planet PDF, November 2002.
