The letter not only symbolizes the humiliation of the public, but also the deep burn that guilt evokes. The children in the village are taught to look at the woman who bears the scarlet letter "as the figure, the body, the reality of sin" (Hawthorne 74). Pearl, a very smart and curious, girl is described as elfish and the devil's child because of her mother. As she grows, her personality changes in the reader's mind to be pure because of her amiable nature. Pearl symbolizes the scarlet letter on Hester's chest. When Hester stands on the scaffold and cannot bear the ridicule she "clasp[s] the infant closely to her bosom"(Hawthorne 48). She does this to try to hide the scarlet letter, but she notices that one shameful thing would not help to hide another. Pearl also helps to constantly remind Hester of her sinful adulterous action. This happens when she throws little flowers at the letter, points at it in the reflection of the armor suit and even makes her own out of seaweed. Pearl plays as a direct symbol of the scarlet letter, which is a way of penance.
The feeling of guilt continues with Hester until disease sweeps through the town. No one was as devoted as Hester when the poor were struck by sickness. In times like these her Scarlet letter was not a signal for the start of mockery and ridicule. Instead, it was a talisman in the eyes of the sick. After the event of the disease, the letter became a symbol of Hester's rich and warm personality. The public proved this; "many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able" (Hawthorne 155). The public began to feel that Hester was a strong woman and that she was a very good person. The results of the disease prove the universal belief that guilt endures until penance is made. .
Hawthorne portrays the idea that guilt endures until penance is made with the use of Dimmesdale.