The Other Side of Pearl

“…but in another face in the small black mirror of Pearl’s eye. It was a face, fiend-like, full of smiling malice, yet bearing the semblance of features that she had known full well, through seldom with a smile, and never with malice, in them. It was as if an evil spirit possessed the child, and had just then peeped forth in mockery. Many a time afterwards had Hester been tortured, thought less vividly, by the same illusion.” (pg.66-67 DOVER-THRIFT EDITIONS)

Passage taken from The Scarlet Letter, VI. Pearl

     As if the A embroidered on Hester's clothing wasn't enough to constantly remind and torture her of the great sin she had committed, this symbol is also reflected with Hester's child, Pearl, the product of guilt and shame. 
       You would think children are a symbol of innocence, peace, and love, yet while there is some truth in that with Hester's child, forever will there always be an underlying guilt and disgrace attributed to her from the way in which she was conceived. Of course seeing Pearl brings back those terrible memories and of course Hester will always be reminded of her great sin, but dig down deeper, not just to the symbol of Pearl as a whole, but the delicate features of Pearl, the features that contribute to this growing symbolism Pearl is associated with. Hester mentions that she sees a lot of herself in Pearl, but what about that other side-the other genetic contributor? Sure a part of Hester can be seen, but when she looks at this helpless child, she cannot help but also see the face of her partner in crime- the man whom she had an affair with, constantly there to mock her- mocking her of the fact that she had to suffer the consequences of the sin, while he got to live out in secrecy, and mocking her in tempting her to reveal his name. With all these reminders (the scarlet A on her clothing, Pearl, and now the features of Pearl) you would think that she would just break down and go crazy, yet although she remains faithful in her decision to not reveal the name of the man she had an affair with, it makes you wonder how the story is going to unfold. Will Hester ever reveal the man's name? If so, how and when will she do so? Furthermore what consequences will she face as a result of doing so? I bring forth the last question because Hester seems to hold back on revealing the name not just to remain trustworthy and faithful as she had since shattered those traits in being unfaithful to her husband, but a reason going in much deeper than that. I wouldn't want to go so left field in this thought, but would it be possible that Hester is unwilling to reveal the name because she is scared, scared of the man she had an affair with and scared of the consequences she would receive in revealing his name? If you think about it, why else would she see the other side of Pearl, when noticing her looks, with associations to evil and malice? Could there be a deeper meaning to these symbols rather than just as a reminder of the sin Hester had engaged in?
       The way in which Hawthorne details this symbol provides deeper understanding as to Pearl and how Hester feels about her. You can tell that Hester loves her daughter but at the same time is scared of her, "as if an evil spirit possessed the child". Using similies (the quote above) and examples ("fiend-like, full of smiling malice"), Hawthorne effectively describes these other features of Pearl in comparing them to heavily negative connotative ideas of darkness and evil, on the verge of demonic. By doing so Hawthorne brings forth a deeper understanding as to the actual meaning of these symbols- can what we, on the surface, only see as symbols of the sinful incident, be something much deeper than that? In consideration of this thought, why else would Hawthorne use these comparisons?


Questions to consider:

• What did Hester mean when she told Pearl in chapter 7, "Thou must gather thine own sunshine. I have none to give thee!"?
• What purpose did Hawthorne have in using a whole chapter (chapter 7) to describe Hester and Pearl's experience to and at the Governor's Hall, before the conversation with the clergymen in chapter 8?
• Is there a deeper meaning in Hester's reasoning to not reveal the name of the man she had an affair with? Could it be that she wants to get society to still see her as someone faithful or can it be something more than that?

Who is Hester Prynne?

"Here, she said to herself, had been the scene of her guilt, and here should be the scene of her earthly punishment; and so, perchance, the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul, and work out another purity than that which she had lost; more saint-like, because the result of martyrdom." (p.55 DOVER-THRIFT EDITIONS)
Passage taken from The Scarlet Letter, V. Hester at Her Needle

       Another indication of Hester's character, one who has shown great courage despite being a cruel mockery to her society, is shown with this passage. You ask yourself well why doesn't she just leave or why doesn't she show weakness, doesn't she know how great of a sin she committed? Hester, unlike her traditionalist counterparts, earnestly wants to show society that she acknowledges the fact that she has committed a sin, but is unwilling to withstand the attempts by society to bring her down. She feels guilty, of course, but knows that if she submits herself to the ridicule and torments of other people, she is just justifying herself as a weak, frail woman, useless in society. She tries so hard to keep up her dignity and give herself some self-respect with the little she has left, and demonstrates so with her embellishment of the A forever ingrained in her clothing and her refusal to reveal the name of the man she had an affair with. She wants to show society that she will take the punishment she receives for having committed this sin, but will not give up the little dignity she has left of herself, even if it means continuing to stay and suffer in her town. You can see her passion in trying to forgive herself and trying to rid herself of her guilt and shame, and by continuing to stay and endure the rest of her punishment like she should do, she does so in the hopes that she can regain some of the respect and forgiveness taken from her since the incident. 
       What makes this passage so meaningful and important? The fact that Hester is one who is willing to endure the pain and receive her punishment so humbly in the face of a Puritan-valued society shows her difference from the others. With such a great sin, you would think that she would be more cowardly, seen by others and mostly herself as a disappointment to the rest of society, an outcast not of any worth or dignity. To the audience and to the rest of society, though, her strong courage and acceptance comes across as shocking. To actually stay in her town to suffer more ridicule shows her difference from the others. She won't run away like a coward, but will stand in the face of her enemies with some dignity.
        Although Hawthorne uses one long sentence to summarize Hester's reasoning in staying in her town, he does so effectively as he is able to expand upon this important reason. He does not merely state that Hester wants to stay to gain some forgiveness, but dwells upon this reason to place more emphasis into Hester's character. Furthermore, he also writes in a type of parallel structure, such as when he says, "the scene of her guilt...here should be the scene of her earthly punishment," and uses a paradox when he says, "the torture of her daily shame would at length purge her soul," to show how Hester uses her situation to contrastingly hope to gain the opposite of her punishment, redemption and purification from her damaged soul.


Questions to consider:

• In chapter IV is the physician who Hester has an interview with, Roger Chillingworth, her husband?

• In chapter V why did Hester see her work with the needle as a sin,? - "To Hester Prynne it might have been a mode of expressing...but something doubtful, something that might be deeply wrong beneath"

• In chapter IV what purpose does the incorporation of dialogue between Hester and Roger Chillingworth serve? How does it reveal more of Hester's character?