Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter

Pearl is one of the many symbols Nathaniel Hawthorne uses in his novel, The Scarlet Letter. She is a symbol of the consequences of sin, of the good that God works even through the consequences of sin, and of the fact that sin hurts people even though it may seem it doesn't.

Hawthorne writes that Hester names her infant Pearl because she was "of great price- purchased with all she had- her mother's only treasure" (82). Even this early in the novel he is showing that although she was the consequence of sin, she is still very valuable to her mother and that she is good.
Hawthorne also writes that Hester dressed Pearl to look like the scarlet letter, and acknowledged her as both a consequence for her sin and as a blessing from God when she said "She is my happiness!- she is my torture, none the less! Pearl keeps me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million-fold the power of retribution for my sin?" (104). Even though Pearl was the biggest consequence of Hester's sin, she also was Hester's motivation for living and kept her from further temptation and giving up.

Another example of Pearl symbolizing the consequences of sin is how Hawthorne describes her fascination with the scarlet letter and the many questions she asks her mother about it. In the story Pearl never lets Hester ignore the scarlet letter even when the townspeople begin to view it as meaning "Able", she never stops reminding her mother of why she wears the letter. The most memorable example of this happens after Hester tells Dimmesdale tells that Chillingworth is her husband and has been torturing him all this time. After making their plans to run away to England, Hester throws off the scarlet letter and feels her passion and joy return with the removal of the letter. Once Pearl sees Hester without the letter she throws a fit and refuses to approach her mother until she listens to her command to "Come thou and take it up!" (199).

Although Pearl mainly serves as a reminder of sin to Hester, she also reminds Dimmesdale of his sin. During his night vigil she asks him if he would stand with them on the scaffold during the day time, reminding him that his sin is still hidden and hasn't been exposed to the rest of the world yet. She also washes away his kiss after Hester and Dimmesdale meet in the forest and discuss fleeing to England which also reminds him of his hidden sin.

Pearl is also a symbol of the fact that sins can hurt those who haven't done anything wrong. Pearl was born due to the sin of Hester and Dimmesdale and because of their sin was ostracized, didn't know her father till she was seven years old, and suffered in many other ways even though she hadn't done anything wrong to deserve that. She just happened to be the consequence of their sin and had to live in that role until the sin was exposed.
Pearl is shown to represent that good can come even from the consequences of sin throughout the book. Even though she was a direct result of sin, after Dimmesdale's confession she becomes normal and undergoes a transformation from a manifestation of the scarlet letter to a normal girl.

In this novel, Pearl was a very important symbol. Without her Hester would have had little motivation to resist further sins. She illustrated the consequences that sins have on both the sinners and those who are affected by the sin. Also, without Pearl the consequences of the scarlet letter wouldn't have changed Hester the way they did because Pearl constantly served as a reminder of the letter and helped to make it part of her identity.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2004. Print.