Scarlet Letter Ambiguity Essay Research Paper Ambiguity

Scarlet Letter Ambiguity Essay, Research Paper

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

anyone; 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 Scarlet A back on her bosom and places her hair

back

underneath her cap. In the one moment that Hester attempts to escape her sin,

Pearl

refuses to acknowledge her until she returns to the shameful mother that she

has always

known. Pearl is a child without guilt, with all a child.s freshness and

spontaneity, however

to Hester is a persistent remembrance to the Scarlet A, which she must bare

on her bosom.

Pearl really was the Scarlet Letter, because if Pearl had never been born,

Hester would

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