Scarlett Letter Blog 2

One relationship that intrigues me in Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter is that of Hester and Pearl. This is not a typical mother and daughter relationship for many reasons. Primarily, Pearl is literally the only thing Hester has in the world to care for and about. There may not be as much love and affection showed between them as one might expect from a mother and daughter. However, Pearl is described as "a paler loveliness, that there was an absolute circle of radiance," (Hawthorne 68).Also an uncommon occurrence  the first thing the baby reached for and smiled at was not mom's face, but the scarlet letter embroidered on her blouse. This is one thing that truly hurts Hester because her child is the one who does not judge her because she does not know. Understanding the social situation at hand with Hester's crime, the dynamics of the relationship between mother and daughter are bound to shift around a lot. Additionally, the personalities of them too will certainly make for growth on both of their parts. Hester is bitter about her punishment and guilty about her crime, but Pearl has a side to her that Hester describes as almost ghostlike. Now, I am curious to see how that will play out.