The Foolish Puritans of The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Foolish Puritans of The Scarlet Letter             What is one mans poison is anothers meat or drink, Beaumont and Fletcher wrote in one of their plays. nearly everything in the world is interpretable in at least two conflicting ways. In The Scarlet Letter, the Puritan society shuns a character named Pearl, only the author, who lived in the Romantic period, views her with awe and reverence. Nathaniel Hawthornes use of nature imagery in The Scarlet Letter reflects Pearls wild, capricious character that serves as a constant reminder of Hesters sin and whose romantically idealistic beaut frightens the Puritan society.             In Hawthornes descriptions of Pearl as an infant and toddler, nature imagery emphasizes Pearls startling beauty and unpredictable, yet innocent, character. Pearls beauty and innocence are apparent from the time of her birth. Hawthorne describes Pearls innocent life as a love ly and immortal flower(Hawthorne 81). Even though Pearl is a merchandise of the guilty passion(81) between Hester and Dimmesdale, both her soul and her body are untainted and flawless.  Hester notices that Pearl has no physical defects, but Pearls character has an unexplainable saying of oddity and unpredictability. When she plays near Hesters cottage, Pearl  smites down and uproots most unmercifully the ugliest weeds(87) which she pretends are the Puritan children. Hester believes that Pearl is so emotional and temperamental because the passion which Hester and Dimmesdale experienced during their sinful act somehow transferred into Pearls soul. However, Pearls antipathy for the Puritans is justified the children often torment her for no good reason. When Hester and Pearl go into town, the Puritan children stop playing and both surround Pearl and stare at her or prepare to hurl mud at the unfortunate pair. Both actions by the Puritans result in a fit of outrage by Pea rl. One reason that the Puritans treat Pearl badly is because of her mothers sin. The Puritans believe that since Pearl is the product of adultery, she is automatically evil and depraved. The Puritan horror for Pearl is also due to the fact that she, like Hesters scarlet letter, is beautiful, and they are in a way jealous of both. Supposedly, Hesters scarlet A is a punishment, but she embroiders it amply and wears it with subtle pride. When the Puritans first see the A, they want to replace it with an A made out of