Name: Paulina Smolinski
WordPress user name: paulinasmolinski
Blog Title: Scarlet Reader
This post focuses on Chapters 13-16
I have always found Pearl to be an insightful, curious child since I read that she “amused herself with gathering handfuls of wildflowers, and flinging them, one by one on her mother’s bosom, dancing up and down . . . whenever she hit the scarlet letter” (89). The initial curiosity I noticed was often fixated on the scarlet letter her mother wore. This fascination continues all the way up to chapter sixteen where inquisitive little Pearl begins to pester her mother about the letter’s meaning. However, what I found more interesting is the analysis that Pearl stated afterwards.
“Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. . . . It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”
“Nor ever will, my child, I hope,” said Hester.
“And why not, mother?” asked Pearl, stopping short. . . . “Will it not come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?” (169).
Pearl noticed that the sunshine seems to stray away from her mother. This could symbolize the fact that the sin Hester carries on her soul refutes any sense of forgiveness that the pureness of the sunlight would bring. The Puritan community will not allow her to ever be fully forgiven of the sin that she committed. Even if they do allow for the scarlet letter to be removed, it will be futile as the mark is on Hester’s soul. Another way to interpret Pearl’s analysis is the fact that there is a lack of sunshine or happiness in Hester Prynne’s life. Though regular Puritan life does not seem to be all that spectacular and joyful, Hester still lacks simple elements of happiness in her like such as a loving husband and supportive friends. Pearl is the only sunshine in her life, and regardless of how much Hester loves her, she cannot fill the void of her generally cold life.
Lastly, we see that Pearl believes that she too will receive a scarlet letter once she becomes a women. The fact that the letter represents sin and evil within the community does not restrain the child from wanting one as well. This element express the way in which Pearl looks up to her mother as the good person she is. Hester, in the eyes of Pearl, is a sister of mercy who give food to the poor and clothes the needy. She is not the epitome of sin. Pearl proves to be just like any other child looking to their parent’s as a role model and moral compass. Here Pearl is assuming, as children often do, that her mother is representative of all adults. Her question suggests that she believes that all grown women wear a scarlet letter. She sees it as a part of growing up or an inevitable event in the process of becoming a mature human being. In a way, she suggests that sin is just as undeniable and inevitable as it is human. We can conclude that Pearl sees all adults as bearing their own personal scarlet letter of sin. Regardless of how the community condemns sin an unforgivable, it is still imminent in the lives of all of humanity. Though the sunshine of forgiveness may be afraid of absolving sin within the Puritan lifestyle, the idea of coming out in full truth in the broad daylight and being accepted by the community is still a farfetched concept for Hester Prynne. So until then, the sunshine of forgiveness will forever be fleeting away.
Work Cited
Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Bantam Dell, 1850. Print.
The Scarlet Reader 