Hester’s affair brings about a child, a new burden on Hester’s already troubled life. Pearl’s wit and perception, even at three years old, lead many to believe her father to be the Devil. Only Hester knows the real truth; Arthur Dimmesdale, the reverend, is Pearl’s father. Because she committed adultery, Hester represents everything dark and sinful, whereas the young gorgeous Pearl represents everything light and beautiful. Hawthorne uses contrasting symbols of light and dark throughout his novel. “ ‘Mother the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides

itself, because it is afraid of (the scarlet letter)’ ” (Hawthorne 180). Pearl is also a contrast to herself: she looks magnificent, yet her cleverness and insight makes her seem to be a child of the Devil. Pearl continues to be a sign of Hester’s shame and sin throughout the novel.

Hester is not the only character who suffers from her guilt in the novel. In fact, her lover suffers much more. Without anyone to confess to, and knowing that he cannot talk to Hester without the town knowing, he is forced to bear his own shame and remorse each time he sees Hester and Pearl in the town. Knowing that Hester has been punished because of him and that he has not been punished himself for his sin, he attempts to punish himself by inflicting pain upon himself. These self-inflicted rituals are all but successful, and his guilt trip continues. Roger Chillingworth, Hester’s husband and the town doctor, lives with Dimmesdale because of a heart problem he seems to be suffering from. In reality, however, Chillingworth is devising a plan to get revenge on Dimmesdale for having an affair with his wife. Because of Chillingworth’s torturing, Dimmesdale continues to get more ill with

Some topics in this essay:
Arthur Dimmesdale, Pearl Dimmesdale, Hester Dimmesdale, Scarlet Letter, Devil Pearl, Finally Dimmesdale, Chillingworth Hester’s, Chillingworth’s Dimmesdale, Knowing Hester, D-4 Hester’s, scarlet letter, hester prynne, story hester prynne, chavez d-4, forced suffer, arthur dimmesdale, town knowing, revenge secret, lover hester, dimmesdale suffer, dimmesdale heart,