The Scarlet Letter #8

"But then the elf-child sighed, and gave up her sport; because it grieved her to have done harm to a living being that was as wild as the sea-breeze, or as wild as Pearl herself"(Hawthorne 160).

Throughout the novel, Pearl has been constantly described as a michievous imp, due to her strange behavior and habit of causing trouble. However, this quote makes me think that there is more to Pearl than meets the eye. She clearly has at least some small bit of sympathy, having felt remorse for injuring a bird. How far this sympathy goes is unclear. She may have only regretted throwing stones at the birds because the birds represented qualities found in herself. Perhaps her sympathy goes further than that. She may just not want to hurt other living things. Either way, through crippling the bird, Pearl experienced regret, which is rare for most children of her age. Seeing as she is clearly wise beyond her years, I would not be surprised if she had developed a conscience this early.

"'We were not, Hester, the worst sinners in the world. There is one worse than even the polluted priest! That old man's revenge has been blacker than my sin. He has violated, in cold blood, the sanctity of a human heart. Thou and I, Hester, never did so!'"(176).

Dimmesdale speaks the truth. While Hester and Dimmesdale's mutual sin was a serious one, it never hurt anyone. The pain inflicted on Hester and Dimmesdale was from the society the lived in, not the sin itself. Chillingworth, however, is committing a horrible sin that hurts not only Hester and Dimmesdale, but also has the potential to hurt the whole town. If anything were to happen to Dimmesdale, the town would lose all hope. By torturing Dimmesdale, Chillingworth endangers Dimmesdale's very life. Chillingworth is truly an abomination. He goes beyond mere retribution and crosses over to sadism. He is no longer torturing Dimmesdale to set things right, but rather torturing Dimmesdale because enjoys doing so. Hester and Dimmesdale have already served their punishment. Hopefully, it will soon be Chillingworth's turn.