The book The Scarlet Letter is all about symbolism. People and
             objects are symbolic of events and thoughts. Throughout the course of the
             book, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Hester, Pearl, and Arthur Dimmesdale to
             signify Puritanic and Romantic philosophies.
             Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme
             sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery. For
             this irrevocably harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest
             of her life. However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the
             Puritanic beliefs. She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is
             forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do
             no wrong. Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical
             sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a
             Pearl, Hester's child, is portrayed Puritanically, as a child of
             sin who should be treated as such, ugly, evil, and shamed. The reader
             more evidently notices that Hawthorne carefully, and sometimes not subtly
             at all, places Pearl above the rest. She wears colorful clothes, is
             extremely smart, pretty, and nice. More often than not, she shows her
             intelligence and free thought, a trait of the Romantics. One of Pearl's
             favorite activities is playing with flowers and trees. (The reader will
             recall that anything affiliated with the forest was evil to Puritans. To
             Hawthorne, however, the forest was beautiful and natural.) "And she was
             gentler here [the forest] than in the grassy- margined streets of the
             settlement, or in her mother's cottage. The flowers appeared to know it"
             (194) Pearl fit in with natural things. Also, Pearl is always
             effervescent and joyous, which is definitely a negative to the Puritans.
             Pearl is a virtual shouting match between the Puritanical views and the
             To most, but especially the Puritans, one of the most imp
             ...