The Scarlet Letter blog #9

Quote 1:
"Children will not abide by any, the slightest, change in the accustomed aspect of things that are daily before their eyes. Pearl misses something which she has always seen me wear" (Hawthorne 189).

Analysis 1:
Prynne has always regarded Pearl as a reward sent from God. The way in which Pearl has acted thus far, would demonstrate otherwise. Pearl was not given to Prynne as a reward, because the only action that Pyrnne has committed that would warrant her a reward would be her penance. Pearl however, was bestowed upon Prynne before Prynne underwent repentance. Hawthorne uses Pearl as a means of policing the punishment that Prynne is entitled to. In puritanical Massachusetts, people took it upon themselves to enforce their own punishment. When Hester literally removes the scarlet emblem from her bosom, it symbolizes the disregard for punishment. Pearl loses her mind when Pynnne does so and regains her composure when the embroidery is properly replaced. Small children who are punished and banned from the television, often try to watch it anyway in order to test and see whether their parents still care about the restrictions that they had set. In the same way, Prynne is reminded by Pearl that the world still cares about her punishment and there is erasing punishment (wearing the letter) even through strict penance.

Quote 2:
"But here a sunny day, and among all the people, he knows us not; nor must we know him!" (Hawthorne 205).

Analysis 2:
Pearl points out duplicity in the innocent way that children often do. When an adult is smoking and tells the child never to smoke, the child ask why the adult is smoking. The only reason the reader interprets this as ill-will is because the reader understands the just secret that Prynne and Dimmesdale are trying to preserve. Pearl is only a child, as much as her mental astuteness would demonstrate otherwise. Pearl is only as much to blame as any other child would have been. In a modern day court of law, anyone seventeen and under is typically subjected to less severe punishment than those over the age of seventeen. Age is a basis on which judgement is cast. Those who are considered intellectually superior (excluding outliers, such as the mentally handicapped) are not treated with less tolerance.