Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter

A detailed Summary of Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter is a book of much symbolism. One of the most complex and misunderstood symbols in the book is Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic symbol - one that is always changing. Pearl came to represent this symbolism in many ways.

In The Scarlet Letter, Hester received the scarlet letter, "A". She had to wear this letter upon her chest. This was the Puritan way of treating her as an adulteress. The Puritan treatment continued, because as Hester walked through the streets, she was looked down upon as if she were some sort of horrible being that had committed a terrible crime. This would give her much mental anguish and grief. On the other hand, God's treatment of Hester for her sin was quite different than just a physical token: he gave Hester the punishment of a very uni

que child which she named Pearl. This punishment handed down from God was a constant mental and physical reminder to Hester of what she had done wrong, and she could not escape it. In this aspect, Pearl symbolized God's way of punishing Hester for adultery.

One final way in which Pearl symbolized something in the novel was with her association with the scarlet letter. Pearl really was the scarlet letter, because if Pearl had never been born, Hester would have never been found guilty of adultery, and thus never would have had to wear that burden upon her chest. Without that burden, Hester would have led a much better life then the one she had throughout the novel.

The fact that Hester's life was ruined for so long was the ultimate price that Hester paid for Pearl. With Pearl, Hester's life was one almost never filled with joy, but instead a constant nagging. Pearl woul

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Approximate Word count = 606
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter

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