What are the themes of the scarlet letter?
ThemesSin, Knowledge, and the Human Condition. Sin and knowledge are linked in the Judeo-Christian tradition. The Nature of Evil. The characters in the novel frequently debate the identity of the Black Man, the embodiment of evil. Identity and Society. Female Independence.
How is the scarlet letter described?
Set in Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 16, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity.
Who wrote The Scarlet Letter?
Nathaniel Hawthorne
What happened to Pearl Scarlet Letter?
In a rather ironic ending, Pearl, the “elf-child” becomes the most human in the final scaffold scene. Having inherited property from Chillingworth, she has become the “richest heiress of her day, in the New World.” With such riches, she may have married well, but her mother has taken her away to Europe.
Does Hester die in The Scarlet Letter?
Frustrated in his revenge, Chillingworth dies a year later. Hester and Pearl leave Boston, and no one knows what has happened to them. Many years later, Hester returns alone, still wearing the scarlet letter, to live in her old cottage and resume her charitable work. When Hester dies, she is buried next to Dimmesdale.
What color does Hester dress pearl in?
Hester dresses her daughter in “a crimson velvet tunic of a peculiar cut, abundantly embroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread.” Pearl and the embroidered letter are both beautiful in a rich, sensuous way that stands in contrast to the stiffness of Puritan society.
How old is Pearl at the end of the scarlet letter?
She appears as an infant in the first scaffold scene, then at the age of three, and finally at the age of seven. (Notice that three and seven are “magic” numbers.)
In what way is pearl like the scarlet letter?
Pearl serves as a symbol of her mother’s shame and triumph. At one point the narrator describes Pearl as “the scarlet letter endowed with life.” Like the letter, Pearl is the public consequence of Hester’s very private sin. Yet also like the scarlet letter, Pearl becomes Hester’s source of strength.
How is Pearl The Scarlet Letter personified?
Pearl is a symbol of her mother’s adultery, shame, and embodiment of sin. Give two examples of how Pearl is the scarlet letter personified. – Pearl walks around with her mother wherever she goes, and is basically ‘attached’ to her like how the scarlet letter is attached to Hester.
What does Pearl throw at mother?
She would not reply if spoken to. And if the children gathered around her, as they sometimes did, Pearl would become absolutely terrifying in her puny wrath. She would pick up stones to throw at them and make incomprehensible shrieks that made her mother tremble because they sounded like the curses of some alien witch.