Chapter 15 - Hester and Pearl
By: Jayne Pilachowski
Summary:
By: Jayne Pilachowski
Summary:
After a short visit in the forest, between
Roger Chillingworth and Hester, Chillingworth departs and continues to pick up
herbs and plants. After he walks away,
Hester is thinking about how she wants something bad to happen to him and even admits
she hates him. She knows hating him is
another major sin, considering Roger Chillingworth is her husband and they had
good times in the past, but Hester does not care. Meanwhile, Pearl is playing down by the
stream; she goes in and out of the water, sails boats down the stream, and
picks up pebbles to throw at birds.
Finally, she makes herself into a mermaid using natural wildlife around
her, and her final touch is a green letter “A” that she puts on her bosom. She hopes this will provoke her mother to
tell her what the scarlet letter stands for. Hester
comes by and sees the letter on Pearl.
Upon examining it, she entertains in the child’s amusement for a little while,
but soon realizes all the implications of the question and lies about the
scarlet letter. Nevertheless, Pearl
continues to question her mother about it, but Hester never tells her the truth.
1. Hester’s
Sins
Throughout
the novel, Hawthorne has developed the ideas of secret sin and guilt. In Puritan society, everyone is suppose to
act pure and as if they are the chosen ones who are going to get into Heaven. However, with Hester’s child and the letter "A"
on her bosom, it is widely known that Hester has committed a major sin. Others feel Hester is not going to Heaven. However, Hester still has a secret sin, which
others do not know about. Hester says, “Be
it sin or no … I hate the man [Roger Chillingworth]” (Hawthorn 134). Hester does not like Roger Chillingworth
because of the actions he has taken. She
exclaims how she wants something bad to happen to him, such as him gathering
bad herbs or the herbs dying once his cold hands touch them.
Hester admits this
secret sin to both the reader and to herself.
She knows it is a sin, but that does not seem to bother her. She has already been found guilty of committing
the sin of adultery. Therefore, having
this sin, of hating her husband, does not seem to be a big issue to her. Other characters, such as Reverend
Dimmesdale, are constantly haunted by their secret sin. It seems that the letter “A” has completely shaped
Hester’s personality and thoughts to the point where she is not afraid to admit
one of her sins. It is already known
that she is not going to Heaven, so what is one more sin? Although she cannot admit this secret sin to anyone
else, since others do not know Roger Chillingworth is her husband, it does
not weigh on her conscience. Hester’s
secret sin does not bother her because of previous experiences that have shaped
her.
2. Pearl's "A"
Pearl is growing older, and now, at the age of seven, she has become more aware and curious of situations around her. Pearl acts like an innocent child, such as when she plays in the water. Also, the way she adorns herself with the letter “A”, is done in innocence. However, her main objective is to find out why her mother wears the “A”.
Pearl is extremely smart for her age, and Hester comes to realize this. By adorning herself with the “A”, Pearl hopes her mother will tell her what the letter “A” represents and why she wears it. Pearl believes that if she acts like and imitates her mother, she will get her way. However, when Pearl asks what the letter means, Hester sidesteps the question at first. Later, Hawthorne explains, “The thought occurred to Hester that the child might really be seeking to approach her with childlike confidence, and doing what she could, and as intelligently as she knew how, to establish a meeting-point of sympathy” (Hawthorne 137). Pearl is very smart and is using tactics to get what she wants. Pearl has even picked up on the fact that Reverend Dimmesdale always puts his hand over his heart when she sees him, just like Hester has a symbol over her heart. It is interesting that Pearl is the only one in society who has noticed the Reverend's gesture. Pearl has taken an interest in the “A” and is doing her very best to determine its meaning.
It is also interesting that Hester never reveals the actual meaning of the letter. Instead, she says she likes the “gold-thread” (Hawthorne 138) on it. This is the first time that Hester has ever lied about the meaning of the scarlet letter, symbolizing the scarlet letter no longer has the same meaning it used to have. When Hester first began to wear the scarlet letter, it had a negative meaning of adultery. Hester was looked upon as a horrible and sinful character. Now, after all the help she has provided others, the scarlet letter has a better, more positive meaning. It has shaped Hester’s character and actually made her a stronger woman. Also, Pearl is the human life form of the scarlet letter, and since she does not know and will not be told its negative meaning, it is almost as if the negative connotation of the “A” has disappeared. The scarlet letter has taken on a more positive meaning.
Gossamer Thread: Yours, Mine and Ours
Yours, Mine and Ours is about a mother of 10 kids and a father of 8 kids who are now one big family. However, the kids do not like that they have been joined together and make up a plan to separate their family. In the end, they realize they do not want their family separated though, and they try to fix their past actions. For example, the mother likes a messy office. When the kids were trying to break-up the family, they organized their mother’s office to try to create conflict within the family. However, when they are trying to fix their previous mistakes, the smaller kids mess up their mother’s office.
The kids in the movie act in the same manner as Pearl does in The Scarlet Letter. They are innocent children and do not know the deeper meaning behind certain situations. The kids think that completely messing-up the office is just how the mother likes it and this will make their family stay together, just like Pearl believes wearing the same object as her mother, the “A”, will get her mother to tell her the information that she wants, the meaning of the “A”. In neither instance, however, do the young ones find out the true meaning behind the situation. Pearl and the children in the movie share common characteristics.
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