The Scarlet Letter 4: page 91-107

Quote 1: "Pearl, that wild and flight little elf, stole softly towards him, and taking his hand in the grasp of both her own, laid her cheek against it; a tender, and withal so unobtrusive, that her mother, who was looking on, asked herself,-'Is that my Pearl?'"

Explanation: This quote shows the shock of Hester to see Pearl being gentle and tender. This makes it clear that Pearl usually is a very passionate person that has love, but just rarely shows it. This means that she is a good person but does not show it often, so others in turn view her as a bad person, as seen through Mr Dimmsdale, "the little baggage hath witchcraft in her" (106). Others will assume that she is bad and keep on thinking that she is the spawn of the devil's work.

Question: How can her lack of showing her love affect Hester and her later in the story?

Quote 2: "But here- if we this interview betwixt Mistress Hibbins and Hester Prynne to be authentic, and not a parable- was already an illustration of the young minister's arguement against sundering the relation of a fallen mother to the offspring of frailty. Even thus early the child saved her from Satan's snare" (107).

Explanation: In the quote above, the narrator gives us insight of how Hester Prynne's child has saved her from damnation, using the words, even thus early, suggesting that she may somehow be her salvation from damnation later in the story.

Question: What might Pearl save Hester from and how will she save her?