ous innocence in her child. Hester's views toward Pearl change from merely questioning Pearl's existence to perceiving Pearl as a demon sent to make her suffer. Hawthorne remarks that at times Hester is, "feeling that her penance might best be wrought out by this unutterable pain"(67). Hester even tries to deny that this "imp" is her child, "Thou art not my child! Thou art no Pearl of mine!"(73; 67) It is small wonder that Pearl, who has been raised around sin, becomes little more than a reflection of her environment. Her own sin leads Hester to believe that Pearl is an instrument of the devil, when in reality she is merely a curious child who cherishes her free nature and wants to be loved by her mother. Because of her own profound sin, Hester is always peering into Pearl's burnt ochre eyes to try to discover some evil inside her daughter. "Day after day, she looked fearfully into the child's ever expanding natureŠdreading to detect some dark and wild peculiarity, that should correspond with the guiltiness to which she owed her being" (61). Hester ultimately ends up fearing Pearl because of her inability to overcome her own guilty conscience, and thus fails to command the respect a mother needs from a child:"After testing both smiles and frowns and proving that neither mode of treatment possessed any countable influence, Hester was ultimately compelled to stand aside, and permit the child to be swayed buy her own impulsesŠAs to any other kind of discipline, whether addressed to her mind or heart, little Pearl might or might not be within its reachŠ" (63)Lacking any form of maternal guidance, Pearl pretty much does what she pleases; her creativity leads her to make up her own entertainment. Pearl's lack of friends forces her to imagine the forest as her plaything. However, she is clearly upset about her banishment and resents the people in the town, whom she views as enemies. "The pine treesŠneeded little toŠ[be...
