The Scarlett Letter #2

“Mother,” said little Pearl, “the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom. . . . It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!”
“Nor ever will, my child, I hope,” said Hester.
“And why not, mother?” asked Pearl, stopping short. . . . “Will it not come of its own accord, when I am a woman grown?”(Hawthorne 126). This is a conversation between Hester and Pearl that foreshadows bad events that will occur. As they are walking in the forest to meet up with Dimmesdale they take a narrow and dark path. The clouds cover up most of the sun but it manages to seep through and touch the end of the dark path. Pearl tries to touch the sunlight but everytime she gets near it, the sunlight disappears again. She blames the lack of sun on the letter and indirectly asks this question to point out the fact that evil is correlated with the letter. Eventually after playing with the sunlight for a while, Pearl manages to catch it but as soon as Hester reaches for the light, it disappears again. This shows the darkness and isolation in Hester's life. Pearl is very smart and realizes many things that others do not. She realizes that her mother is the only woman wearing an "A" on her chest. She does not understand the meaning of the scarlet letter yet. Pearl thinks that you get the "A" as you become a grown woman but still does not understand why the light hides from Hester.  This quote is important because the narrow and dark path that they walk on foreshadows a bad occurrence. It also shows that Pearl's lack of knowledge about the scarlet letter is bothering her inside and she wants to know more by indirectly asking questions about it. She realizes that evil , Roger, and Dimmesdale all have to do with the "A". This quote also shows Hester's grief and the severity of her punishment. She has been living in darkness which symbolizes the lack of life and isolation. That itself has really made Hester suffer and she hopes that Pearl will never face such punishment.