FREE ESSAY ON SYMBOLISM IN THE SCARLET LETTER

SYMBOLISM IN THE SCARLET LETTER

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 unique 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. 
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 would harass her mother over the scarlet A which she
wore. Pearl would also make her own A to wear, and sometimes played games with her
mother's, trying to hit it with rocks. When Hester would go into the town with Pearl, the
other children would make fun of her, and Pearl would yell and throw dirt at them. So, in
this case, Pearl symbolized the decimation of Hester's life and mental state.
Although Hester had so much trouble with Pearl, she still felt that Pearl was her
treasure. Pearl was virtually the only thing that Hester had in life, and if Pearl wasn't
in Hester's life, Hester would almost surely have committed suicide. Once in a while,
Pearl would bring joy to Hester's life, and that helped her to keep on living. Pearl
really symbolized a rose to her mother, at some times she could be bright and vibrant,
and really love her mother, but at other times, she could be wilting. It was at these
times when she was wilting that brought Hester the most grief.
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.
In closing, Pearl was a source of many different kinds of symbolism. From being a rose,
to representing the scarlet letter A, she was a kind of burden, yet love for Hester. And
as a final note, Pearl was more then her mother's only treasure; she was her mother's
only source of survival.