The scene continues in the forest with the sun still shining. Hester is excited to introduce Pearl to Dimmesdale for the firs time as father and daughter. She calls Pearl over and they notice the flowers she placed in her hair that make her seem even more beautiful. Dimmesdale tells Hester that he was worried that the town's people might notice the resemblence between him and his daughter. Pearl refuses to cross the brooke, because she doesn't like her mother with the scarlet letter she had always seen her wear. Hester nervously tries to convince Pearl to cross it but she gives in and puts the scarlet letter back on. Pearl's refusal shows her strange personality. 
    “With these words, she walked to edge of the brook, picked up the scarlet letter, and fastened it again onto her bosom. Just a moment earlier, Hester had spoken hopefully of drowning the letter in the deep sea. But there was a sense of inevitable doom about her now, as though fate itself had returned the deadly symbol to her. She had thrown it off into the universe! She had breathed free for an hour! And now the scarlet misery was glittering once again, right in its old spot! It’s always this way. An evil deed, whether symbolized or not, always takes on the appearance of fate. Hester gathered up the heavy locks of her hair and hid them beneath the cap. Her beauty, the warmth and richness of her womanhood, left her like fading sunshine. A gray shadow seemed to fall on her. It was as though there was a withering spell in the sad letter."-Hawthorne
    For some unexplainable reason, Pearl won't greet her father nicely. Perhaps she's jealous of the attention he is getting from her mother. The sun dissapears once the scarlet letter was replaced upon her bosom and the morbid mood appears again, yet this time it has a sense of mystification.




Leave a Reply.