Pearl bombarding her mother of the true meaning behind the scarlet letter reminds her of her adultery and should be more remorseful of her own deeds. Although Pearl is definitely a positive, spirit building, influence on Hester’s life, Pearl’s main role as the scarlet letter proves to challenge Hester’s resolve. Dimmesdale- What does the word "dim" reflect in his name? The Scarlet Letter. Your IP: 94.23.53.58 Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. Hester is looked down upon by her entire comminunity. Her Pearl!—For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that would be indicated by the comparison. The word "Dim" is in his name shows how he truly feels guilty about being Pearl's father. In any number of places, she reminds Hester that she must wear, and continue to wear, the scarlet letter. # 734 in the US Although the scarlet letter is meant to be a symbol of shame it turns out to be a powerful symbol of identity. Hester's daughter Pearl is the result of her infidelity; she was born out of wedlock and seen as a product of shame and disgrace, but she is also as valuable and as precious as a pearl and brings Hester great joy and happiness. One of the predominant colors is red, seen in the roses, the letter, Pearl's clothing, the "scarlet woman," Chillingworth's eyes, and the streak of the meteor. It meant that Hester was able to help out in good ways in the community. Prynne, however, is fiercely protective of her daughter, and prevents this from happening. The novel is considered a masterpiece of American literature and a classic moral study. "Chillingworth" has chilling in it- which can refer to his cold, hard, calculating and cruel nature. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one: ). Pearl is the gift from god. She is the being that made her mother's sin known. Cloudflare Ray ID: 60f9b4aa6ab7c857 She's the "pearl of great price" who ends up restoring their souls. (nicknames- good and bad) 2. Despite the pair’s closeness, Pearl never learns the meaning of the scarlet letter or the identity of her father. Hester's adultery has brought her great misfortune, as the community shunned her and treated her with disrespect, but it also brought her the greatest gift in the form of a beautiful little girl. In Hawthorne's popular novel The Scarlet Letter, the main protagonist, Hester, chooses "Pearl" as the name of her daughter in order to showcase her daughter's great value, beauty, and importance. -the point is to create a deeper meaning to the character that you may not recognize until you truly think about it. Scarlet Letter Feminism 1479 Words | 6 Pages. The letter's meaning shifts as time passes. A visible symbol of something you have done wrong and regretted, or a stigma of a past mistake you made that follows you. symbol and symbolism, the paper attempts to expound Hawthorne’s skillful employment of symbolism in his masterpiece through the analysis of the symbolic meaning of the main characters’ name in this great novel. Pearl also functions as a constant reminder of Hester's adulterous act. Pearl is as much reminder of the past as is the scarlett letter; she and her mother are shunned by the villagers and forced into isolation together. Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. scarlet definition: 1. bright red: 2. bright red: 3. In Chapter 19, the narrator even calls Pearl a "living hieroglyphic." Start your 48-hour free trial and unlock all the summaries, Q&A, and analyses you need to get better grades now. Answered by Aslan on 12/19/2017 8:13 PM Pearl is exactly what the name means. Pearls are of great value and are created when a grain of sand—an irritant—enters the oyster's shell and the oyster transforms it into a pearl in order to protect itself from the irritation. The work centers on Hester Prynne, a married woman who is shunned after bearing a child out of wedlock but displays great compassion and resiliency. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter, heroine Hester Prynne names her illegitimate daughter Pearl because the child is "of great price, purchased with all she had, her mother's only treasure." She "spoke out" via her affair with Dimsdale. In The Scarlet Letter, both the embroidered scarlet letter "A" and Pearl are symbols of Hester Prynne's sin of adultery. The scarlet letter is again emphasized here when Hester, along with Pearl, mounts the platform to stand there along with Dimmesdale, this time by stressing Dimmesdale’s obsession with his own guilt. One of the most complex and misunderstood symbols in this novel is Pearl… • Pearl as a Symbol in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter 679 Words | 3 Pages. Even as a baby, she instinctively reaches for the scarlet letter. Pearl is the name of the child of Hester. Pearl Prynne, the daughter of Hester Prynne, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter can be considered the most symbolic character in the novel. Hester Prynne 2. It is red because that is the color associated with the devil, and the Puritans believed that Hester's sin … Scarlet Letter - Pearl as a symbol Pearl is a symbol of Hester’s transgressions and even has similar qualities as the sin which she represents. The meaning of it changes as the story progresses. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel The Scarlet Letter tells a story of love, collective punishment, and salvation in Puritan, colonial Massachusetts. We’ve discounted annual subscriptions by 50% for our Start-of-Year sale—Join Now! (of) a bright red color: . (Matthew 13:45-46, King James Version). If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. Top subjects are Literature, History, and Social Sciences. What symbolic meaning could the sunkight have? It evolves from simply meant adulterer to meaning able. Hester goes beyond her punishment and helps the poor, making the townspeople feel that the scarlet letter stands for “able” rather than “adultery” (156). • Learn more. Pearl Prynne, the daughter of Hester Prynne, in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter can be considered the most symbolic character in the novel. Pearl- what does Hester refer to her as in the book? Hawthorne says it is the first object of which she seemed aware, and she focuses on the letter in many scenes. Pearl's name might also be an allusion to "The Parable of the Pearl" in the Bible, in which a merchant sells everything he owns and sacrifices everything he has in order to buy "one pearl of great price": Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. This is in Chapter 14. 3. Pearls either fall in the natural category or the cultured category. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ‘The Scarlet Letter’ takes place in puritan New England in the 1600s in a backdrop of rigid rules and Christian faith. The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. Pearl's only companion in her playtime is her imagination. The Scarlet Letter was supposed to remind Hester and the townspeople of her sin and make her sorry about her act, but as Hawthorne writes, “The scarlet letter had not done its office” (160). Without burden, Hester would have led a much better … Chillingworth- Asked by Alissa S #733090 on 12/19/2017 6:33 PM Last updated by Aslan on 12/19/2017 8:13 PM Answers 1 Add Yours. But the object that most captures her imagination is the scarlet letter A on her mother's clothing. Similar to the merchant, Hester sacrifices her reputation for her beautiful daughter, as Pearl is the most important person to her. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. Standing on the scaffold, he feels that the whole world is gazing at the scarlet letter over his heart. The Scarlet Letter, novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. All human beings are naturally endowed with good qualities and bad qualities. In chapter 6, Hawthorne writes. 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