The Scarlet Letter- Entry 3 (Chapter 6)

*Warning: Extreme case of movie nostalgia, leading to corny references*

This chapter, compared to the others, was very refreshing. It seemed to be the only part of the book, so far, that was not focused on the darkness of Puritan times, which is nice because the endless dreariness was starting to exhaust me. During the first part, where the narrator describes the characteristics of Pearl, Hester Prynne’s daughter, I felt enlightened, maybe even inspired (to write). Such is the power of life.

For the description of Pearl’s physical traits, like proper beauty, I pictured, dare I say, Renesmee from Twilight? (Come on, people!) The storyline fits, right? The Scarlet Twilight: Bella, married to Jacob, fornicates with Edward and has a daughter named Renesmee. She cannot reveal Edward’s identity because she plans to elope with him, and if he is caught, he will be chopped up and burned at the stake, so she is forced to live with the burdens of society…until further notice…right? No…? Okay. I still see it, though.

“…the talk of the neighboring townspeople, who, seeking vainly elsewhere for the child’s paternity, and observing some of her odd attributes, had given out that poor little Pearl was a demon offspring…” (Hawthorne 95). I would laugh if Pearl's personality didn’t seem so unnatural already. I don’t know if the uncanny description of her actions, one of those being the “freakish, elvish cast” that would flash across her face, are Prynne’s distorted views of her daughter, or true abnormalities.  Almost the entire town knows that Pearl is a live result of sin, therefore, their views of her must be warped to some extent. Like, if any child in the village were to be possessed (or already was), it’d be Pearl because she is the product of evil wrongdoings.

Another peculiar trait of hers would be her black eyes. Sure, it’s an eye color. Black, big deal. BLACK. The color of death and evil. Hopefully it wasn't THIS kind of black:

Overall creepiness. (I found these under “demon” and “black eyes” on Google Images by the way)

See, this is beautiful. This was under "pretty black eyes" on Google Images. I'll just assume she looks like this since no one has felt an overpowering urge to "cast the devil out of her".

Another odd occurrence in this chapter would be the seemingly light-hearted banter over where Pearl came from. Hester seems to cry out from exasperation, demanding what her child is, and her daughter plays along. When Pearl asks where she came from, Prynne says, “Thy Heavenly Father sent thee!” (Hawthorne 95), to which Pearl replies, “He did not send me! I have no Heavenly Father!” …whut. *record player comes to an abrupt stop*

There’s Something Wrong With Esther Pearl. (Orphan, anybody?) Yeah, never mind. Pearl really is out there, I’m not quite sure what the exact issue is, but something is definitely off. It may have something to do with the fact that Hester does not really discipline her. “After testing both smiles and frowns, and proving that neither mode of treatment possessed any calculable influence, Hester was ultimately compelled to stand aside, and permit the child to be swayed by her own impulses,” (Hawthorne 88). That seems a little *ahem* WEAK lenient, don't you think?

I don't know. I don't understand Puritans. ^_^