Term Paper
Understanding Chinese Classics
Thesis：The Symbolic Meanings of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter
College： The College of the Foreign Languages
Major： English
Name: Tian Jun Class Number: 10090213
Lecturer： Jiang Yujiao
Co-Lecturers: Li Guicang, Xuan Bingshan, and Guo Jianling
Time： 2013-06
Scores:
Content
Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 1
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 2
2. Pearl the character ...................................................................................................... 2
3. The symbolic meanings of Pearl ................................................................................ 4
3.1 Pearl as a guilt ................................................................................................... 4
3.2 Pearl as an ideal life .......................................................................................... 5
3.3 Pearl as a truth ................................................................................................... 6
3.4 Pearl as a pearl .................................................................................................. 8
5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 9
Works Cited.................................................................................................................. 10 1 The Symbolic Meanings of Pearl in The Scarlet Letter
Abstract: As a main character in Nathaniel Hawthorne‟s The Scarlet Letter, Pearl, the
sin-born infant of Hester Prynne and Dimmesdale, plays an fairly important role in the
progressing of plots and the delivering of author‟s values. Similar to the scarlet letter
A, Pearl is not only a character in the novel, but also has various kinds of symbolic
meanings, and this paper aims to interpret these meanings of Pearl.
Key words: symbolic meanings; Pearl; The Scarlet Letter
2 1. Introduction
Nathaniel Hawthorne(1804-1864) is considered to be one of the greatest fiction
writers in the history of American literature who creates quite a few famous works
including Mosses From an Old Manse (1846), The Scarlet Letter (1850), The House
of the Seven Gables (1851), and The Blithedale Romance (1852). Hawthorne‟s works
belong to romanticism or, more specifically, dark romanticism, cautionary tales that
suggest that guilt, sin, and evil are the most inherent natural qualities of humanity
(Wayne 140). Many of his works are inspired by Puritan New England, combining
historical romance loaded with symbolism and deep psychological themes, bordering
on surrealism. His depictions of the past are a version of historical fiction used only as
a vehicle to express common themes of ancestral sin, guilt and retribution (Howe 633).
All these features have been embodied splendidly in The Scarlet Letter.
The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne‟s representative work, makes a breakthrough in
the traditional novel-creation in America, which also highlights Hawthorne‟s thoughts
and artistic style. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts during the years
1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an
adulterous affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Finally
she succeeds, changing the meaning of the letter A from “Adultery” to “Angel” and
“Ability”. On the other hand, Dimmesdale, a venerable priest, who commits adultery
together with Hester, hides his sin deep in himself and suffers a lot from both Hester‟s
ex-husband and his own condemn. In the end of the story, unable to bear his sin any
longer, he confesses himself in the public and dies on the scaffold.
Hawthorne is commonly considered as an expert of symbolic art, and The Scarlet
Letter is undoubtedly the representative work of his symbolism in which the scarlet
letter, the roses before the prison, the forest, and all the characters have their specific
symbolic meanings. Among all these symbols, Pearl can be a distinct one as she is
both a main character and a special symbol.
2. Pearl the character
Pearl, born out of a guilty passion between Hester and Dimmesdale, is doomed
to be secluded by the society along with her mother since she was born. As
Hawthorne depicts in the novel, the girl is delicate and perfect in the shape, has a
native grace, loves the nature world deeply, “worthy to have been left in Eden to be
the plaything of the angels after the world‟s first parents were driven out” (Hawthorne
