What is Pearl's attire compared to in Chapter 7 of The Scarlet Letter?
Hester Prynne acknowledges in Pearl's habiliment that her daughter is the incarnation of her sin:
It was the scarlet letter in another form: the scarlet letter endowed with life!
At the same time that Pearl is dressed in scarlet as representative of her sin of passion, Pearl, freed from the oppression of Puritanism as the child of the scorned woman, is a "sprite." Truly, she is a free spirit whose tunic is embellished with embroidered "fantasies and flourishes of gold thread," indicative of her imaginative and spontaneous nature. When, for instance, the other children--"those sombre little urchins" of Puritanism--run to fling mud upon Pearl and her mother, the child spontaneously gives chase to them, screaming and shouting "causing the hearts of the fugitives to quake within them." And, yet, she has a part of her that is naturally exuberant. When, for example, she notices the sunshine on the side...
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of a house, Pearl demands that sunshine be stripped off the building and given to her to play with.
Certainly, Pearl is Hester's sin incarnate; in addition, she is the expression of Hester's inner beauty, her golden warmth and creativity. For, Pearl is no conformist; like the fourishes on her tunic sewn by her mother, Pearl, too, has imagination and spirit, and she allows her nature free expression. Vicariously, then, Hester is afforded self-expression through her sprite daughter.
As Pearl grows, the narrator describes her imaginative spirit and beauty as well as her apparel. Chapter 7 describes Pearl's attire as "a crimson velvet tunic, of a peculiar cut, abundantly embroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread." Just attire set Pearl apart, as traditionally Puritans dressed in plain and somber colors, without much adornment at all. Pearl is dressed to resemble the scarlet letter itself, a result of her mother's own imagination and creativity. Shortly after the description quoted above, the narrator tells us, "It was the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life!" Pearl serves as a constant reminder to her mother of the scarlet letter, and her garments appropriately reflect this fact.
What is the significance of Pearl's clothing in The Scarlet Letter?
In the chapter entitled "Pearl," the narrator makes a particular point of talking about the way in which Hester dressed her daughter. What is so interesting about this is the way that there is a deliberate link made between the scarlet letter that Hester wears on her breast, that the reader is told is so lavishly and beautifully sewn on, and the way that Pearl, the fruit of that illicit adulterous union, is presented:
Her mother, with a morbid purpose that may be better understood hereafter, had bought the richest tissues that could be procured, and allowed her imaginative faculty its full play in the arrangement and decoration of the dresses which the child wore before the public eye.
Just as the scarlet "A" that Hester is forced to wear is turned by her skill with the needle into a symbol of beauty and finery, so Pearl, the illegitimate child of an illicit and unlawful union, is a figure of beauty and is arrayed in all finery by her mother. Far from being ashamed of her state and of her daughter, Hester Prynne seems almost to flaunt her in front of the society that has made her an outcast and branded both her and her daughter sinners. One way of viewing the appearance of Pearl therefore is to consider the way in which Hester Prynne subtlely challenges and subverts the rules and beliefs of the day through turning what is despised into things of beauty and value.
In The Scarlet Letter, what does the color and material of Pearl's "A" suggest?
It is in Chapter 15 that Pearl constructs her own Scarlet Letter, which is formed from fresh green plants, to wear upon her own breast. This triggers of a discussion between Hester and Pearl about the significance of the letter "A". Hester draws back from explaining to the seven year old the intended meaning of the stigma, which curiously makes her feel as if she has been false to the letter.
Consider what the text says about the "A" that Pearl fashions:
She inherited her mother's gift for devising drapery and costume. As the last touch to her mermaid's garb, Pearl took some eelgrass, and imitated, as best she could, on her own bosom, the decoration with which she was so familiar on her mother's. A letter - the letter "A" - but freshly green, instead of scarlet! The child bent her chin upon her breast, and contemplated this device with strange interest; even as if the one only thing for which she had been sent into the world was to make out its hidden import.
Interestingly, and perhaps ironically, Pearl tries to "decode" the symbolism of the scarlet letter herself with great intensity. Clearly the fact that Pearl has fashioned her own "A" out of eelgrass to form a green letter, instead of a scarlet one, confirms her description as an "elf-child", a character who seems more at home in nature than in the "civilised" town. She is confirmed in the novel as a character of the world of romance, and is an incarnation of physical pleasure and imaginative freedom, entirely contrary to the Puritan way of life. This "A", therefore, highlights a key theme in the novel, which is the way in which symbols can be ascribed or imposed on others, but how then they can be reinterpreted to symbolise other things. Just in the same way that Hester re-interprets her "A" as a sign of honour, shown by the care with which she embroiders it, so Pearl takes the sign of shame and uses it to symbolise her own position as an outsider in the community, as one who is of nature rather than of civilisation.
In The Scarlet Letter, what is remarkable about Pearl and her clothes?
Because of Hester's natural ability at the needle, she uses it by lavishing outrageous garments on little Pearl. These clothes went entirely against the Puritan tenet of austerity and the vow of poverty and humbleness that makes them stand out. Pearl dresses in vivid colors, using shiny silks and with outrageous patterns all the time. Her flamboyant clothes, combined with her wild personality, make her stand out from everyone. Among many other descriptors, Hawthorne compares Pearl to an exotic bird.
However, in chapter 7, Hester dresses up Pearl with a very unique robe.
A crimson velvet tunic, of a peculiar cut, abundantly embroidered with fantasies and flourishes of gold thread.
After the raucous behavior that Pearl displays at the mansion, the things that she says to the people, and the awkward nature of her demeanor, it is clear that this child is there to remind to her mother forever of her sins. In the past, the little girl has mocked her mother, disobeyed her, kept her from sleep, and she continuously makes a point to remind her of the scarlet letter. Ironically, in her conversation with the governor, Hester claims that the letter is like Pearl in that they have both taught her many lessons. This is when Hawthorne makes what is perhaps one of the most interesting statements about Pearl,
It was the scarlet letter in another form; the scarlet letter endowed with life!
Theerefore, Hawthorne believes that Pearl is Hester's sin, living and breathing, reminding her forever (like a curse) of what she has done.