Pearl in the Scarlet Letter What is the greatest sin that can be committed by a human being? Is it murder, robbery, or something else? There is no exact answer to this question; it depends on one's own view of sin. In The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a woman by the name of Hester Prynne is condemned for committing a sin, which is adultery. The townspeople, who are Puritans, consider adultery a terrible crime …showed first 75 words of 1230 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1230 total…sin, and a representation of God’s punishment and mercy, the reader may be able to understand why Pearl is important to the development of the novel. By focusing in the novel’s deeper meanings, one should realize that Pearl is the scarlet letter, the punishment for Hester, and also plays a part in Hester’s salvation. Hawthorne ingeniously combines all this into Pearl, making Pearl truly one of his strongest and most valuable symbols.