The child, Pearl, is “a blessing and as a reminder of her sin. ” As if the scarlet A were not enough punishment there “was a brat of that hellish breed” which would remind Hester of what happened in the past. The “brat” could have been given away to Governor Bellingham yet Hester proclaimed that Pearl “is my happiness!… Ye shall not take her! I will die first! ” Not a person in Boston, nor Hester herself thought highly of the little child and Hester refused to let Pearl go.
Hester carried the kid around only because it was a direct reflection of her sin and to cast away here sin as freely as that to give it away would be unjust and unfair to Hester and Pearl. From now on Hester would continually and proudly be near Pearl. Hester would go against the grain in everything she did. Very rarely did she ever give up hope; never did she complete a job poorly. In the city of Boston “many people refused to interpret the scarlet A by its original signification.
They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a woman’s strength. ” By now the people of Boston believe in Hester and accept her because Hester is an arduous, productive worker in the puritan society. The townspeople were reconsidering whether Hester was still worthy of wearing the scarlet letter by the time Hester was about to leave with Dimmesdale. The people of Boston realized what a good job Hester had done wearing it and what once was evil inside of Hester turned into good.
The fact that Hester committed adultery was soon forgotten by the people around Hesters’ everyday life. Yet another meaning for the scarlet letter was brought about when a meteorite appeared above Boston, a sexton thought it represented the word “Angel” coming from above. What was once an ignoble member of the puritan way of life became a decorous woman. This turn in events was inevitable because of Hesters.
