Entry 15:
PEARL
Pearl: Unique and precious--> Hester held her baby close to her like an oyster would to sand.
Compares to nature, and the magical elements of nature.
She was born out of sin, so she is automatically outside of the Puritan society. She can act however she wants, and be judged, but since she already has the label of 'sin', there's nothing more that can come of it.
"a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank of luxuriance of a guilty passion."
"Her Pearl! For so had Hester called her; not as a name expressive of her aspect, which had nothing of the calm, white, unimpassioned lustre that would be indicated by the comparison. But she named the infant 'Pearl,' as being of great price,-purchased with all she had,-her mother's only treasure!"
Hester is 'paying' for the price of her sin, and with it, Pearl is all she has left.
What does the "WHITENESS" symbolize? Is Pearl a type of "holy" child? White here means something. Remember there is a split between how the Puritans viewed "the forest" and how Romantic Literature viewed the forest or nature. Pearl is often compared to a bird. Make connections to your prison idea.
ReplyDeleteWhiteness; morally or spiritually pure, innocent, and unattained. Can be like 'snow' that is from the sky (nature) and isn't contaminated until it touches the ground.
ReplyDeletePearl isn't necessarily a 'holy' child, she is free from having anything to do with the society and is free of the 'jailed society' itself. She's compared to a bird because they're free to fly where they please.
Puritans viewed the forest as dark and scary, where the Romantic Lieterature viewed it as beauty and something curious.