Metaphorical Analysis in The Scarlet Letter

“Before this ugly edifice, and between it and the wheel-track of the street, was a grass-plot, much overgrown with burdock, pig-weed, apple-peru, and such unsightly vegetation, which evidently found something congenial in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilized society, a prison. But, on one

The rose-bush is also a symbol of passion. Hester’s sin is one of passion, and this sin is linked to the rose-bush. The location of the rose-bush right outside the prison indicates that Hester’s passion was at a peak at that time. Pearl is the direct result of Hester’s passion. We are told of Pearl, “whose innocent life had sprung, by the inscrutable decree of Providence, a lovely and immortal flower, out of the rank luxuriance of a guilty passion” (81). In chapter six, Hester discusses how the name Pearl came to be. “But she named the infant ‘Pearl,’ as being of great price, --purchased with all she had, --her mother's only treasure!” (82). Her mother’s only treasure refers to Hester’s virtue, which was sacrificed due to her deep passion. Hester fears that Pearl will suffer as a consequence of Hester’s sinful passion, since Puritan belief is that nothing good can come from sin. Hester proves this wrong however, because her Pearl is a great source of happiness and strength for her.

The rose-bush imagery serves several purposes in The Scarlet Letter. The rose represents a number of things, just as the scarlet letter ‘A’ does. I feel the strongest comparison is between the rose and Pearl. Pearl is without a doubt very valuable to Hester although there are moments when even Hester doubts Pearl’s origin. Pearl is an obvious reminder of Hester’s passionate sin, yet she provides the strength for Hester to survive in such a harsh society. Pearl is also a reminder of the moral issues throughout the novel. She yearns for the truth to be exposed and almost becomes transformed when her goal is achieved. The narrator reveals that Pearl has become human for the first time after her father has been revealed. This reminds us of Pearl yearning for the red rose, which here symbolizes the morality she desires.

The narrator refers to Pearl as the moral blossom of the novel. She is the one that will teach the moral lesson of the story. This is revealed in chapter eight also when Pearl tells Mr. Wilson how she has been plucked from the rose-bush outside the prison door. Pearl is the rose blossom and she is to provide the moral to this story. Pear

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