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The Noble Savage, Pearl
Imagine what living in a society based on religion would feel like, where every law was
centered on one church’s belief and everyone who sinned became an outcast. This
describes Massachusetts in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s American romantic novel, The Scarlet
Letter. Growing up in colonial times, Hawthorne found himself “absorbed by the enigmas
of evil and moral responsibility" this and his belief of “human destiny in nature and in
entity" shows from where his characters and story lines came (Perkins 433). His main
character, Hester Prynne, commits the deadly sin of adultery, leading her to live the rest of
her life as a social outcast. She and her illegitimate child are shunned and isolated from the
rest of the colony. Hawthorne, in the chapter “The Child by Brooke-side", uses Pearl and
her romantic qualities, such as the noble savage, to examine the concepts of the influence
of the past on the present and law versus love.
The concept of the influence of the past on the present plays an important role throughout
the novel, but in the chapter “the Child by Brooke-side", it influences every decision Pearl,
Hester, and Dimmesdale make. When Hester takes off the A, which Pearl has “always seen
[her] wear", Pearl noticed the “slight change" in her mother’s appearance and “misses it",
this alarms her and causes her not to obey Hester (Hawthorne 189). The scarlet letter has
always been a significant part of Pearl’s life. Although she may not understand the
meaning, she knows that somehow it connects her and her mother. Ever since Pearl was a
baby, her main fascination has always been the mysterious letter her mother wore on her
chest. To Pearl, the letter is not a symbol of disgrace, as it is to the public and Hester, but a
symbol of her mother. Because Pearl was so accustomed to the A, Hester taking it off
caused her distress. Although Hester and Dimmesdale did not intend to upset Pearl, they
did by just being together at that moment. Pearl, being a defiant child, decided to “show no
favour to the clergyman" because of his lack of presence in her life (Hawthorne 191).
Dimmesdale and Hester still have feelings for each other, and although Dimmesdale has
ignored Hester and their child, Hester still wants him to be a part of their lives. Pearl only
knew a life without a father. Introducing one to her at the age of seven, especially the town
