Pearl, the character in The Scarlet Letter , is an independent child who attracts the cruelty of Puritan children, town elders, and the governor who aim to ensure her proper Christian teachings and the unwavering love of her mother. She is hard to control, impetuous, loving and kind. She can read between the lines and knows there is a connection between her mother and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale who always has his hand over his heart. Pearl is an untamed child of nature considered to be the symbol of the adulterous sin committed by her parents. She symbolizes Hester’s transgressions and even has similar qualities as the sin she represents. Her life and behavior reflect on the unusual and unacceptable nature of Hester’s adulterous sin.
The conversation between Mistress Hibbins and Hester reveals to the reader that as a symbol, Pearl is also the conscience of many people. To begin with, she is the conscience of the community by pointing her finger at Hester by reminding her to wear and continue to wear the scarlet letter. While at the forest, Hester removes the A but Pearl compels her to put it back on. She also tells her mother that the sunshine does not love her since because it is afraid of something on her bosom. When Pearl was a child, there was a day her mother stooped over her cradle, and the infant’s eyes were fixated on the glimmering of the gold embroidery about the letter grasping at it with her small hands.
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Hester, on the other hand, felt tortured by the by the soft touch of Pearl’s baby hand. Moreover, as if her mother’s agonized gesture was meant to make sport of her, little Pearl looked into her eyes and smiled. Time would go by during which Pearl’s gaze might never be fixed upon the scarlet letter, but sometimes it would happen unawares where she would have the strange smile and an odd expression of the eyes.
Pearl is also the conscience of Dimmesdale. When Hester and Pearl stand together at the scaffold, she reaches out to her father, Dimmesdale, but he does not acknowledge her. Furthermore, while on the scaffold, she asks the minister to stand with them in the light of day and the eyes of the community. She is bitter when he denies her once again washing away his kiss which in essence is a form of punishment for a man who is not willing to take responsibility. Pearl is persistent and repeats her request for recognition at the time of the Election Day procession where in her intuitive way; she knows what he must do so as to find salvation.
To sum it all, it is her father’s, Dimmesdale, actions that save Pearl transforming her to have human qualities like feelings and sympathies. Before he passes on, Pearl kisses him on the scaffold thus breaking the spell. At the time of her father’s death, she is only seven, and throughout the reading, it is evident that she can provoke the adult characters in the book. She is good with when questioning people thus drawing their attention and that of the reader concerning the overlooked truths of the adult world. The nature of children in the Scarlet Letter often symbolizes the children as being more perceptive and honest than the grownups.
