Ambiguity In Scarlet Letter
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 anyon
e; 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 passion" and will not go to her mother until she puts the
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Approximate Word count = 1799
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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