By: Miranda Mast and Zack Trela
Chapter 5 and 6 consists of Hester’s time after prison. It begins by describing where she lives, what she does to support herself, and how she interacts with the rest of the Puritan town. It also describes Hester’s child, Pearl. She is beautiful in every way and at times a mirror of Hester herself. Even though Pearl is innocent, she shares the fate of her mother by being shamed and an outcast of the Puritan town. Summary
Hester and Pearl lived on the outskirts of town. She was a seamstress for a living. Her work was popular but she was never asked to make a wedding dress because of her sin. She made very elaborate dresses for Pearl despite it not being the Puritan style. After Hester got out of prison, she could have moved to another town or back to England but instead chose to stay. Hester gave money and clothes to the poor that insulted her. She never said anything back to people who would insult her. She believed that she could see other people’s sins because of her own sin. She named her child Pearl because of the great price she paid for her. Hester
Pearl was born an outcast even though she was innocent. She has Hester’s moodiness, passion, and defiance. Her and Hester are both subject to the cruelness of the townspeople. First object she became aware of as a child was not her mother’s smile, but the scarlet letter. Pearl seemed to torture Hester by knowingly touching the scarlet letter. She pestered Hester at an early age about who her father was. Hester had a hard time controlling her so she allowed her to practically run free. Pearl is a reminder of Hester’s sin but is still her greatest treasure. She is sometimes thought to be a demon offspring, or a sprite because of her crazy spirit and perverse actions. Pearl is fascinated by the scarlet letter and has an intelligence about it that causes Hester pain. Pearl
Perfect societies are never really perfect. Everything you do has consequences. Themes
The scarlet letter - represents sin of Hester - form of human punishment - represents human sexuality Pearl - Human representation of Hester’s sin - mirror of Hester’s personality - physical representation of sexual transgression - is a blessing - represents spirit and passion that inspires Hester to keep fighting Hester’s needlework - represents that beauty can come from something that’s not perfect Symbols
Metaphor- “the scarlet letter flaming” Irony- Even though Pearl was a product of sin, she was still lovely. Foreshadowing- “We may speak further of it hereafter.” Tone/narrative voice- Hawthorne doesn’t believe in the puritan idea that Hester should be severely punished for her sin because she is given a beautiful child. Literary Devices