Naomie, although I agree with Jaimie that Pearl is not exactly conscious of the way she has been perceived as an embodiment of her mother's letter, I think you are right to see her visceral response as akin to a feeling of abandonment. That is, what she has always known as integral to her mother's identity has been cast away and she deeply fears that she too might be. This strikes me as perceptive on Hawthorne's part in describing fragile emotional bonds between a mother and daughter, especially in this case when all others bonds have been cut off and the child has cost the mother so much suffering.
I also think this scene is astute in letting us see Hester's ambivalence about the role of motherhood. Though she has been devoted to Pearl, it has been a great burden on her. The return of the sensual comes from casting away that burden along with the public penalty she has been made to wear. When she puts it back on at Pearl's insistence, she resumes her devotion but also kills off her sensual side again.
In equating Pearl with the scarlet letter, you make the point that by casting off the letter, Hester, in a way, throws away Pearl, and that in turn gives cause to Pearl's devilish tantrum. (And I do believe that it is only the tantrum which is devilish, not Pearl herself.) I do agree that Pearl is living manifestation of the scarlet A, but the question is, does she know that? Is she aware of her connection? We discussed in class that Pearl is very astute and perceptive child, but I am not sure if she paralleled the disposal of the letter as a disposal of her person.
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Naomie, although I agree
Naomie, although I agree with Jaimie that Pearl is not exactly conscious of the way she has been perceived as an embodiment of her mother's letter, I think you are right to see her visceral response as akin to a feeling of abandonment. That is, what she has always known as integral to her mother's identity has been cast away and she deeply fears that she too might be. This strikes me as perceptive on Hawthorne's part in describing fragile emotional bonds between a mother and daughter, especially in this case when all others bonds have been cut off and the child has cost the mother so much suffering.
I also think this scene is astute in letting us see Hester's ambivalence about the role of motherhood. Though she has been devoted to Pearl, it has been a great burden on her. The return of the sensual comes from casting away that burden along with the public penalty she has been made to wear. When she puts it back on at Pearl's insistence, she resumes her devotion but also kills off her sensual side again.
Poor Pearl
In equating Pearl with the scarlet letter, you make the point that by casting off the letter, Hester, in a way, throws away Pearl, and that in turn gives cause to Pearl's devilish tantrum. (And I do believe that it is only the tantrum which is devilish, not Pearl herself.) I do agree that Pearl is living manifestation of the scarlet A, but the question is, does she know that? Is she aware of her connection? We discussed in class that Pearl is very astute and perceptive child, but I am not sure if she paralleled the disposal of the letter as a disposal of her person.