Theme Of Isolation In Scarlet Letter

She is responsible for all of the hate that is portrayed upon Hester. However, what pearl represents to Hester, is her wild side, how she can be herself and not care about what the town thinks. In chapter 14 Hester and Pearl are at the beach, “Hester bade little Pearl run down to the margin of the water,and play with the shells and tangles sea-weed, until she should have talked awhile with yonder gatherer of herbs. So the child flew away like a bird, and, making bare her small white feet, went pattering along the moist margin of the sea...the image of a little maid, whom Pearl, having no other playmate, invited to take her hand, and run a race with her. ”(154) Pearl is happy and free and influences Hester be the same way.

She is the result of the sin that was committed by Hester and Dimmesdale. Throughout the story Pearl asks difficult questions to her mother. She also has a slight obsession with her mothers embroidered A on her clothes. Pearl acts as a constant reminder that she can never escape her sin as someone who has committed adultery. However, Hester loves her daughter so much.

In Heather James’ Fire, the first novel of the Elements of Power trilogy, she explains the consequences of isolating and secluding oneself: “Seclusion wasn't good for anyone; it made you forget how to protect yourself.”  Seclusion can range from being alienated by other people, to staying in solitude, to isolating oneself on purpose. While people often go into seclusion with a motive or a reason, they can end up with negative traits because of it. This theme of isolation is discussed and implied in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works of literature, especially The Scarlet Letter and “The Minister’s Black Veil.” In these works, Hawthorne elaborates on how different methods of isolation have their negative tolls on the different characters that experience

She continuously mocks her, doing things that make Hester feel bad and frustrated. Pearl is Hesters silent antagonist and she might even be better at keeping Hester from getting what she wants more than Roger. Pearl has of course caused all these events to take place with her birth, she also causes Hester to wear the A like the village did, and she as stated before mocks her for the entirety of the book. Pearl has caused all of these events to take place with her birth being the catalyst. To quote Hester “To assure herself that the infant and the shame were real” (Hawthorne 56) Pearl is the living proof of the sin committed.

Her constant questioning about her father unknowing creates hostility between her and her mother. The one person Pearl has in her life is Hester, who continuously cast her away to be alone. Another example of how Pearl's upbringing caused her to be lonely, is when she recognizes her fate of loneliness. Pearl is born an outcast since she is the product of sin in a christian world. She is a symbol of sin and therefore, does not fit in with the Puritan society that she is surrounded with.

Hawthorne states, “... Hester could not help questioning at such moments whether Pearl was a human child. She seemed rather an airy sprite…” (Hawthorne 52). Even though some people see Pearl as a child of the devil, she is actually just a little kid whose mother’s actions reflected badly on her life and made people’s views of her distorted.

To Hester’s shock she discovered that Pearl was more mature and imaginative. Hester practically raised Pearl by herself and Pearl turned out to be a Godly, honest, and innovative young girl. People saw how hard it was for Hester and so things changed. Hester became known as the woman who was able to do anything.

In many parts of the novel she is described as a demon child or elf-child. She is mean, obstinate, and has a fierce temper. Hester says, “She is my torture!”(109) Hester is literally saying that Pearl is not only a blessing but also a curse. Pearl is often evil to everyone even to her mother, but was this Pearls nature, or was it just a reaction of her being isolated and looked down since childhood?

She decided to live on the very outskirts of town in a small,old cottage. She did so in order to distance herself and Pearl from society. Not only was Pearl rejected by society, but she also pushed away any possible friends by her

Throughout the passage from The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne uses Hester’s baby, Pearl, to illuminate the theme of beauty in a dark place. Once released from prison, Hester, an adulterer, becomes a public spectacle. Through this hard time, Hester has her daughter Pearl to soothe her and to bring her strength and hope for a better future. By using vivid imagery and juxtaposition, Hawthorne depicts Pearl as Hester’s happiness, light, and beauty during a sad and lonely time. While in Prison, Hester is all alone and depressed.

In The Scarlet Letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the comparison between Hester’s scarlet letter and Dimmesdale’s hand over his heart presents the theme that people will experience a permanent and more powerful pain when they attempt to hide their sin intentionally rather than choosing to confess and expose it to the public. The scarlet letter once to be a reflection of sin, but what it stands for can always be changed because it is removable, and it is not a permanent imprint on Hester’s body. Even though both Hester and Dimmesdale are sinners, Hester experiences less torture because the townspeople witness her confession through her action of helping the poor, and they interpret the scarlet letter A as “able” instead of “adultery” because

Hester dislikes the fact that the “scarlet letter” may be perceived as a sign of weakness, and instead learns to be empowered by the “A”. Ultimately, Hester actively made a positive impact on the community and proceeds to raise pearl, her child, without any assistance from Roger or Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester exemplifies her independence through her ability to maintain financial stability while raising her daughter and working. Hester eventually morphs the public's view of the scarlet letter into something positive. The narrator says, “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification.

How the Scarlet Letter Transforms Hester In The Scarlet Letter, when Hester is first brought out on the scaffold to by publically shamed for her ignominy, Arthur Dimmesdale pleads with her to name him as her fellow sinner so that he will not have to reveal himself when he exclaims, "Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life.” Hester refuses him and Dimmesdale goes unnamed and unpunished until the very end of the story. While Dimmesdale refuses to accept responsibility for his sin, Hester embraces the shame of the community. It is this difference which causes Dimmesdale enormous amounts of guilt and pain while Hester in able to find peace with herself and with her situation.

Something so small can alter someone’s psychological nature. During the time of The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne; Chillingworth, Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl did not have the things many people used today to treat these disorders and diseases. Pearl, Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth all obtain some sort of these disorder that transforms their characters into something that causes uproar throughout the community. Hawthorne portrays the psychological nature of the novel through the development of anxiety, mood, depression and psychotic disorders in the four main characters. Pearl, Hester, Dimmesdale and Chillingworth.

In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne explores recurring themes of suffering surrounding the main characters, Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester and Dimmesdale both commit adultery with each other, and, as a result of this, both experience gruesome and occasionally unbearable forms of suffering. Though they undergo different forms of pain, both of their experiences are highly reliant on how the Puritan society treats them. Hester 's pain stems from the shame and estrangement she receives from the community, while Dimmesdale’s is due to the reverence with which the community regards him. Although, in spite of the fact that both Hester and Dimmesdale receive harsh penalty for their sin, by the end of the book, Hawthorne shows how their suffering is, in fact, the key to their salvation.