The Isolated Wild Child: Hawthorne's Personification Of Romanticism
Connor French
Mrs. Witcher
English III B4
11 November 2013
The Isolated ‘Wild Child’: Hawthorne’s Personification of Romanticism In The Scarlet Letter a girl is teased, tormented, and excluded. Modern television viewers may envision the character Meg from Family Guy, who is picked on by her classmates. Although the writers of Family Guy use Meg as a punch line, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Pearl to embody romantic ideals. Because of her separation from regular society and her strong connection to nature, Pearl symbolizes the aspirational future of Romanticism. Pearl’s attributes, such as her independence and her intimacy with nature, would appeal to most Romantics. Her unique personality allows Hawthorne to portray Pearl as the light of romanticism in a world of Puritans. …show more content…
When Mr. Wilson meets Pearl he asks “what has ailed thy mother to bedizen thee in this strange fashion” and asks if she is “a Christian child” or “one of those naughty elfs or fairies” (Hawthorne 100). This shows how Pearl’s uniqueness irks the puritan minister because he sees that she is not assimilating into their culture. It ultimately credits to the assertion that Pearl’s individualism goes against what is accepted by most Puritans. Because she is different, the Puritans view her as something evil. They find her to be “fiend-like, full of smiling malice” when she “dances up and down, like a little elf” (Hawthorne 89). Because of this, the townspeople believe Pearl to be “a demon offspring” who will “promote some foul and wicked purpose” (Hawthorne 90). Because Pearl’s attributes are unlike those of any other child in town, the Puritan townspeople worry that Pearl might be the devil incarnate. Their fear of Pearl represents their dislike of nonconformity and their inability to
Mrs. Witcher
English III B4
11 November 2013
The Isolated ‘Wild Child’: Hawthorne’s Personification of Romanticism In The Scarlet Letter a girl is teased, tormented, and excluded. Modern television viewers may envision the character Meg from Family Guy, who is picked on by her classmates. Although the writers of Family Guy use Meg as a punch line, Nathaniel Hawthorne uses Pearl to embody romantic ideals. Because of her separation from regular society and her strong connection to nature, Pearl symbolizes the aspirational future of Romanticism. Pearl’s attributes, such as her independence and her intimacy with nature, would appeal to most Romantics. Her unique personality allows Hawthorne to portray Pearl as the light of romanticism in a world of Puritans. …show more content…
When Mr. Wilson meets Pearl he asks “what has ailed thy mother to bedizen thee in this strange fashion” and asks if she is “a Christian child” or “one of those naughty elfs or fairies” (Hawthorne 100). This shows how Pearl’s uniqueness irks the puritan minister because he sees that she is not assimilating into their culture. It ultimately credits to the assertion that Pearl’s individualism goes against what is accepted by most Puritans. Because she is different, the Puritans view her as something evil. They find her to be “fiend-like, full of smiling malice” when she “dances up and down, like a little elf” (Hawthorne 89). Because of this, the townspeople believe Pearl to be “a demon offspring” who will “promote some foul and wicked purpose” (Hawthorne 90). Because Pearl’s attributes are unlike those of any other child in town, the Puritan townspeople worry that Pearl might be the devil incarnate. Their fear of Pearl represents their dislike of nonconformity and their inability to