In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, The Puritans were a strict group of radical Christians that believed that they better than everyone else. Their treatment of their fellow man shows this. They believed in punishment for sinners. This is evident in their treatment of Hester Prynne. They punished Hester by giving her the scarlet letter "A". This was the Puritan way of treating her as a criminal, for the crime of adultery. The Puritan treatment continued, because as Hester would walk the street, she would be looked down upon as if she were some sort of demon from hell. Pearl was the true punishment for the sin of adultery. Pearl, throughout the story, develops into a dynamic individual, as well as an extremely important symbol- one who is constantly changing. Pearl is involved in a complex history, and as a result is viewed as different and is shunned because of her mother's sin. Pearl is the living embodiment of the scarlet letter. The Puritan society looks at pearl as!
             a child of the devil, and a black hearted girl because she is he result of sin. Although the Puritans felt they punished Hester, Pearl is the true punishment for her mother's sin. Pearl was a constant reminder of her mother's sin, the only bond between Hester and the man she loved, and the cause of much of Hester's pain and agony.
             Pearl was a constant reminder of her mother's sin. If Pearl had never been born, Hester's sin would not have been known. Pearl is all that Hester has in her life. Hester says that Pearl: "keep me here in life! Pearl punishes me too! See ye not, she is the scarlet letter, only capable of being loved, and so endowed with a million fold of Power of retribution of my sin?" Hester says that Pearl is the living scarlet letter, and causes Hester more anguish than the scarlet letter itself. Initially Pearl is the symbol of Hester's public punishment for her adultery. As the story progresses and Pearl matures she symbolizes the dete...