ld. Hester sees Pearl to be “a blessing as a reminder of her sin”. Hawthorn gives the inkling of a biblical allusion in which Hester views Pearl as “The pearl of great price” (Matthew 13). The “pearl of great price” refers to heaven, and Hester views Pearl as the only piece of heaven she will ever have. Therefore, due to Hester's great courage in the face of adversity and her ability to change the way people view her, along with the fact that she embraces pearl as her only joy shows that Hester has a strong control over the scarlet letter.Throughout the novel, Hawthorn gives many reasons that support both sides of the argument over the affects that both the scarlet letter and Hester have on eachother. Yet, when symbolism depicts the scarlet letter to be Pearl, the argument between Hester and the letter is best epitomized in the following quotation. “In giving her existence, a great law had been broken; and the result was a being, whose elements were perhaps beautiful and brilliant, but all in disorder…” (p.62) The quotation, if examined with the thought that “her” refers to the scarlet letter, depicts that although Hester’s courage allows the letter to be seen as beautiful, there still remains a shadow of haunting disorder that the letter casts over Hester’s life. Hester shapes her life so that it remains in fragile balance with the ominous shadow of the letter....
