The Voice of an Unwanted Child

by

Candice Warnack

Being a member of Puritan society was an extremely difficult task. Puritans believed strongly in spirituality and religion. If people disobeyed the laws set for them, there were serious consequences. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter is a realistic portrayal of this time. Hester Prynne is one of the true outlaws of her era. She commits adultery and is branded with the scarlet letter. Even worse, she has the duty of raising a bastard child, Pearl. Throughout the story, Pearl indirectly reveals Hester’s feelings. Pearl’s actions tell the truth about what is really happening in Hester’s heart and mind, Hawthorne’s way of showing his disgust with the situation at hand. Furthermore, he allows Pearl’s personality to reveal the remorse in Hester’s heart. The symbolism in her first few years is extremely relevant to the emotions her mother experiences.

Even as an infant, Pearl stands out. In the first scene of the book, Hester has to stand on the town scaffold with her illegitimate baby. Before all of the townspeople, Pearl becomes restless, sensing her mother’s discomfort. Even as a baby, she feels the townspeople’s disappointment in her mother. Hawthorne writes, "The infant, during the latter portion of her ordeal, pierced the air with its wailings and screams" (51-52). Pearl is acting out all of her frustrations, just as Hester wants to. It is obvious that Hester could not reveal her own thoughts and feelings, so Pearl decides that she will. Hawthorne uses Pearl’s tears as a prime example of how she is able to communicate to the town what her mother cannot.

Pearl’s position on The Scarlet Letter paralles her mother’s even as both change. She grows into a belligerent young child. While Hester is forced to conform to make a place for herself in the community, Pearl is rebellious. Her mother must tolerate abuse and criticism to survive; however, Pearl displays her mother’s dislike for such abomination. Pearl acts outrageously and treats the townspeople harshly. She vents the emotion her mother feels by acting exactly as a witch child would be expected to. Hawthorne makes Pearl’s intentions understandably clear. During the scene at Governor Bellingham’s home, Hester tries to persuade the high figures of her community that she should have the right to raise her daughter. The officials laugh at her expense. Pearl, however, rebels:

But Pearl, who was a dauntless child, after frowning, stamping her foot, and shaking her little hand with a variety of threatening gestures, suddenly made a rush at the knot of her enemies, and put them all to flight. (Hawthorne 77)

This passage exemplifies the way Hester feels but cannot act. Hawthorne is once again using Pearl as the only person in Hester’s life who can express her thoughts. Hawthorne uses Pearl’s strong childhood personality to illustrate his intolerance of Hester’s banishment and Pearl’s exile.

Hester becomes an angel of mercy to many of the townspeople; therefore, she develops a level of respect in the community. During this time, Pearl becomes slightly calmer. She begins to play contentedly and does not rebel on such a harsh level. Even though she begins to stifle her actions, she starts to question the reason for her mother’s situation. Her curiosity is symbolic of her interest in discovering a way to her mother’s happiness. Hester does not choose to talk, but Pearl gives her no choice:

           From the time she learns to talk, Pearl insistently and repeatedly asks Hester why she wears the scarlet
           letter. Hester evades her, a tactic that leads impish Pearl to attempt to tease the truth out of her mother by
           making an "A" out of seaweed and adorning herself with it. Pearl wants her mother to be truthful, a
           responsibility Hawthorne imposes on Pearl as an agent of salvation. [. . .] (Nathaniel Hawthorne 8)

Pearl is an inquisitive child who does not give up easily. She begins to understand more during the second scaffold scene. Although Pearl has never been told the truth, she has a sense of understanding. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Pearl stand together. Pearl begs her father to make their union public, but he refuses. She begins to understand her mother’s feelings of heartache and betrayal because of her father’s secret. Pearl becomes outraged at her father’s denial of her and her mother. Hawthorne finally allows Pearl to understand completely her mother’s heartfelt frustrations. Pearl’s expression of her own feelings mirrors her mother’s soul.

During the novel's final chapters, Pearl’s emotions change in many different ways. Her reactions reflect her mother’s deepest thoughts. Hester is aware of Dimmesdale’s self-destruction. Pearl’s reaction in the third and final scaffold scene is the final unveiling of her mother’s wishes. Dimmesdale stands on the scaffold with his lover and his daughter to tell all the townspeople of his hidden sin. After Dimmesdale has relieved his heart of this heavy burden, Pearl leans down and places a kiss on her dying father’s lips. Pearl shows her love for her father and makes it known to all watching how her mother’s heart aches for Dimmesdale. Hester loves Dimmesdale throughout the whole novel but cannot let anyone know. At the end, Hester still cannot let her feelings be known, so Pearl, by kissing her father, lays Hester’s soul open for the town to see. Hawthorne releases Pearl’s resentment by granting her the power to break the spell with the kiss.

Pearl’s as well as Hester’s characters are both strong and capable. Hester says all she needs to say to Dimmesdale and the townspeople through her small erratic child. Pearl is the voice of her mother. It is ironic how many readers find this novel a love story. There is no love in it. Hester does not allow herself the luxury to show love for Pearl or Dimmesdale. Pearl is always seen as "the most unrelentingly real fact of her mother’s ruined life" (Julian Hawthorne 7-8). It is unfortunate that Hawthorne uses a child as such a significant mediator in her mother’s life. Pearl is the window to her mother’s heart. She cannot change what she stands for or how she is portrayed. Pearl makes all people look into their own lives and see how they express themselves. Hawthorne allows all of the characters to have a peace within themselves. Hester continues her life with the scarlet letter still branding her and sees it as a symbol of strength instead of shame. Hawthorne leaves the audience with the assumption that Pearl goes on with her life and becomes very happy with her own family. Hawthorne concludes the story by allowing every person to look into morality.

Work Cited

Hawthorne, Julian. "The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne." The Atlantic Online. Apr. 1886.
           <http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/classrev/scarlet.htm>

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Great Britain: Woodsworth, 1999.

"Nathaniel Hawthorne." Directory Of Literary Bibliography. 15 Nov 2002.
           <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/lisle/dial.hawthorne.html>